Pakistan has secured the 130th position among 143 nations in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2025, a ranking that analysts say warrants serious reflection rather than dismissal or blanket blame. The index, which evaluates countries across eight dimensions of governance and justice, places Pakistan near the bottom of the global table — a standing that mirrors longstanding structural concerns about its legal system.

How Pakistan Scores Across Key Dimensions

The WJP index assesses countries on eight components: constraints on government powers, corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice. Pakistan ranked 129th in Civil Justice and notably better at 101st in Criminal Justice, though both figures signal deep systemic gaps.

On civil justice sub-indicators, Pakistan scored 0.36 on accessibility and affordability, 0.28 on unreasonable delay — its weakest sub-score — and 0.35 on effective enforcement. The delay figure is particularly telling: it reflects a justice system where cases languish for years, disproportionately burdening ordinary citizens without resources to navigate prolonged legal battles.

The Argument for Contextual Reading

Commentator Shahid Hussain Kamboyo, writing in leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune, cautioned against reading the index as a verdict solely on the courts. “International indices can reveal shortcomings and encourage reform, but surveys and expert assessments should be considered alongside institutional records and lived experience. Some evidence underlying annual assessments predates recent changes, whose effects may take time to emerge. Pakistan’s ranking warrants reflection, neither dismissal nor indiscriminate blame,” he wrote.

Kamboyo added that the true measure of progress lies not in index placement but in lived outcomes: “Ultimately, justice must be felt in the worker who recovers his wages, the widow who secures her inheritance, and the pensioner who receives relief while it still matters. The true measure of progress is not a better place on a table, but a lasting public confidence that the law will protect people when they need it most.”

Rights Lawyer Sentencing Deepens Credibility Crisis

The index release coincides with a high-profile case that critics argue illustrates the very dynamics the WJP data captures. On 30 October 2025, an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each, along with a fine of PKR one lakh each under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. The case stemmed from an incident involving the removal of road barricades during a cricket match in Islamabad in 2024.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a prominent human rights organisation, condemned the verdict as “a clear example of the helplessness of the judiciary in Pakistan, the absence of justice, and a system based on military dominance.” The BYC described both as not merely lawyers but as activists who consistently raised their voices against atrocities committed against the Baloch, Pashtun, and other marginalised communities.

BYC’s Statement and Wider Implications

In a statement posted on X, the BYC said: “Sentencing Iman Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha to ten years in prison each is a clear example of the helplessness of the judiciary in Pakistan, the absence of justice, and a system based on military dominance. It is a reality that those who tirelessly struggle day and night to secure justice for others in a tyrannical state, and who raise their voices for the protection of human rights, eventually find themselves standing in the dock of a court under an oppressive system, forced to face state injustice themselves.”

The BYC further questioned: “The question is: Is raising one’s voice for justice a crime? Is standing with oppressed nations a punishable act?” It argued that the sentencing sends “an alarming message to all those voices that speak out for the oppressed,” adding that “when lawyers and human rights activists begin to feel unsafe themselves, it is only natural for questions to arise about the entire justice system.”

This is not the first time Pakistan’s rule of law credentials have come under international scrutiny — the country has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of the WJP index in recent years. The simultaneous release of the 2025 rankings and the lawyers’ sentencing has drawn fresh attention to the gap between institutional claims of reform and the experience of rights defenders on the ground. How Pakistan’s government and judiciary respond to both the index and the international outcry over the sentencing will be closely watched in the months ahead.