The public protests in Azad Kashmir over the past few days, and the rulers’ attempts to suppress them through a “hard state” approach, have once again proven that the current system is unnatural and does not represent the people. These rulers are not the guardians of the people. Instead, they are agents of colonialist powers. This also demonstrates that the Munir–Shehbaz government lacks political insight and the most basic understanding of how to look after the affairs of the people. Consequently, it seeks to resolve every issue through the barrel of a gun.

In Islam, there is no place for legislative assemblies. Laws are derived by qualified Mujtahids from the divine revelation revealed by Allah, whilst the Khalifah (Caliph) adopts and then implements those laws. However, Islam establishes strong institutions in the form of the Majlis al-Ummah (Council of the Ummah) and the Majalis al-Wilayah (Provincial Councils). The Majlis al-Ummah represents the opinion of the Ummah as a whole, while each Majlis al-Wilayah represents the opinion of the people at the provincial level. These institutions serve as the voice of the Ummah regarding public services, development projects, roads, schools, hospitals, employment, and other similar necessities. Understanding the reality of these public needs does not require profound intellectual inquiry or technical expertise. Therefore, respecting the people’s opinion in such matters is both the right of the Ummah and a source of political stability for the state. It is therefore essential that the Ummah’s opinion be represented accurately so that these matters may be decided in accordance with its wishes.

Accordingly, whether it is Azad Kashmir or Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan or the central government, whether the issue concerns electoral delimitations, the allocation of seats, or the various forms of pre-poll, polling day, or post-poll rigging, hijacking the Ummah’s representation in these and other permissible (mubah) matters in order to impose handpicked individuals as “public representatives” is a usurping of the Ummah’s rights. Elections under the democratic system have become a practical manifestation of this reality. They do not represent the people. Instead, they reflect the rivalries, collusion, and power-sharing arrangements among the powerful elite.

These rulers continue to violate the rights of the people in numerous ways—whether by suppressing their right to genuine representation, standing as an iron wall against the implementation of Islam, refusing to take measures to protect the sanctity of our Prophet (saw), abandoning the Muslims of Gaza, or serving as the frontline force in America’s so-called “War on Terror.” This has been their consistent pattern of conduct. As the rulers become increasingly exposed before the people, they have resorted to a “hard state” policy, which reflects their intellectual bankruptcy, ideological defeat, and tyrannical arrogance. From Balochistan to FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, and Punjab, the failure of the rulers’ national policies is evident everywhere.

This “hard state” approach also provides foreign intelligence agencies and embassies with opportunities to manipulate popular movements for their own objectives. Those rulers who equate crushing the people, and imposing the silence of the graveyard, with peace should remember the fate of Gaddafi, Saddam, Hosni Mubarak, and Bashar, all of whom attempted to suppress their people through a police state. The rulers of the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait should also realize that their own fate is not far away. A “hard state” policy can never endure because it is a sign of an unnatural state—one that rules over the people by force in opposition to their will.

The Khilafah (Caliphate) alone is the state that genuinely represents the Ummah. The Khilafah is founded upon and carries the belief of the Ummah. The Khalifah assumes office through the Bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) of the majority of the Ummah. Unlike democracy, the Majlis al-Ummah and the Majalis al-Wilayah possess no legislative authority. Consequently, the elite are deprived of the ability to legalize corruption through legislation. This largely removes their incentive to capture legislative bodies at any cost, and they no longer have the prospect of recovering the millions or billions they invest in elections. As a result, genuine representation is promoted, and those who sincerely care for the people are more likely to emerge.

The Khalifah implements the Islamic Shariah and seeks the public’s opinion whilst implementing the Shariah and resolving the people’s affairs. Islam has prohibited governing in the manner of a police state. The Khilafah is a guardian state that looks after the affairs of the Ummah. In Islam, politics itself means managing the affairs of the people according to the Shariah rulings of Islam. Therefore, the genuine solution to all the problems of the Ummah lies solely in the establishment of the Khilafah. This is the cause for which we must strive.

Allah (swt) says,

[وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ]

“And those who have wronged are going to know to what kind of return they will be returned.” [Surah Ash-Shu'ara: 227].