CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PAKISTANI CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE

Abstract

Fundamental rights constitute the principal constitutional mechanism for protecting human dignity, liberty, equality and justice against arbitrary exercise of state power. In Pakistan, the constitutional protection of fundamental rights exists within a distinctive normative framework in which modern constitutionalism operates alongside Islamic principles. This article critically reviews the relationship between Pakistani constitutional rights and Islamic jurisprudence by examining the constitutional protection of life, liberty and fair trial; freedom of speech and religious liberty; and gender equality and non-discrimination. Particular attention is given to Articles 9, 10, 10A, 19, 20 and 25 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, together with Articles 227 and 203D concerning the Islamic character of legislation and the jurisdiction of the Federal Shariat Court. The article further examines the concepts of Huquq al-Ibad and Maqasid al-Shari'ah as possible theoretical bridges between constitutional rights and Islamic jurisprudence. Judicial developments are analysed through leading decisions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Federal Shariat Court, while the post-2025 constitutional restructuring and establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court are incorporated into the institutional analysis. The article argues that Pakistani constitutionalism and Islamic jurisprudence should not be understood through a simplistic binary of compatibility or conflict. Considerable convergence exists concerning protection of life, human dignity, justice, property, family and protection against arbitrary state action. Difficulties arise primarily in areas involving freedom of expression, religious liberty, gender-specific rules and the methodology used to reconcile classical jurisprudence with contemporary constitutional conditions. The article concludes that a constitutionally grounded, Maqasid-oriented and methodologically disciplined approach to contemporary Ijtihad can contribute to the development of a coherent rights jurisprudence in Pakistan.