ZULFIQAR AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: The military dictators and politicians were equally blamed in Senate on Monday for repeated suspension and subversion of the Constitution with a big praise for Indian politicos who keep their democracy flourishing, giving no chance to the military intervention even once.

Taking part in a discussion in connection with the Constitution Day of Pakistan, which Senate has started celebrating since Raza Rabbani has taken over as chairman, the senators called for making the dictators and their supporters in political circles an example for playing with the Constitution.

The senators on both sides of the aisle shared unanimity that the Senate should have equal powers like the Lower House of Parliament, for being the voice and house of the Federation. They insisted that the main objective of having the Upper House of Parliament was to give due representation to all the federating units.

Some MPs questioned why a former military ruler [Gen Musharraf] was allowed to travel abroad, instead of appearing before the court for proceedings under Article 6. They also complained that neither military dictators Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf nor their teams were touched as there is no less punishment for those involved in abrogating the Constitution than ‘hanging them to death’.

Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah said that despite passage of 1973 Constitution, the country still has no federal participatory constitution, which is reflective in the limited powers to the Senate.

“It is not a truly federal participatory democracy, as the Senate has no fiscal powers. The Senate can’t vote for the election of the prime minister, so we have a long way to go and achieve this goal, we need to make amendments in the Constitution,” he added.

Senator Rehman Malik said that Pakistan Peoples Party founding Chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who gave a unanimous Constitution to the country, should be given the title of ‘Baba-e-Dastoor-e-Pakistan’ [father of the Pakistan’s constitution.

“The chairman Senate who had in his credit hectic struggle and sacrifices to protect the Constitution should be called ‘the Protector of the Constitution’…but alas! Who cares, as the case of Bhutto’s judicial murder is yet to be decided by the top court of the country,” he added.

Rabbani expressed gratitude for the support extended to the Senate by the President, Prime Minister, four chief ministers, speaker National Assembly and the state minister for information, for bringing out a special supplement in the newspapers about the Constitution Day of Pakistan.

MQM’s Senator Maulana Tanvirul Haq Thanvi gave credit to Indian politicians for conducting themselves in such a way that the Constitution could not be suspended. He called for strictly adhering to the Constitution, which if implemented, would hugely benefit Pakistan, for it is Islamic in nature.

He and several government and opposition lawmakers, praised ex-prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and other leaders of that time for giving the nation a consensus document, which is not at all in conflict with Islam.

Taking part in the discussion, PPPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the Constitution should be a compulsory subject in academic institutions, particularly in the military academies to inculcate respect for the Constitution.

“Historically, the mindset of the establishment knows little respect for the Constitution,” he said and recalled the Quaid-e-Azam’s address to officers in June 1948 in Quetta, he noted.

The Quaid, he said, had deplored that in his conversation with senior military officers when he noticed that they did not fully appreciate the importance of the Constitution and the oath they had taken. The Quaid then had read out the oath to them to emphasise importance of the words in the oath, he said.

“There is a mindset that believes that a uniformed person is a greater patriot than a civilian and an elected prime minister is a ‘security risk’. Such a mindset does not readily come to terms with the Constitution made by elected representatives of the people,” he added.

Senator Babar maintained that days of abrogation of the Constitution and the imposition of PCOs and the LFOs might be over. But the day when all state institutions would willingly accept the supremacy of the Constitution is still far away.

“If all institutions are willingly submitted to the Constitution, it would not have been possible for a dictator being tried for treason to escape trial by just barging into a hospital in Rawalpindi, leaving the courts and the Parliament bewildered,” he said.

“With such disrespect being shown to the Constitution, clearly there is a need for teaching the Constitution in the military academies,” he said.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Abdul Qayyum asserted those who abrogated the Constitution betrayed the country and also those who sided with them from the political parties, should also be declared as guilty.

However, he contended that the abrogators of the Constitution were individuals and not the institutions and their supporters were politicians, who wanted to become premier or ministers. “This is a great injustice on the part of such politicians and this is a black stigma on them,” he said.

He lamented that the judiciary not only facilitated dictators, but also allowed them even to amend the Constitution. “Democracy suits us and whosoever goes against the Constitution is not sincere to Pakistan,” he argued.

Senator Khalida Parveen of PPPP from southern Punjab proposed creation of a separate province, as Punjab province consists of 62 per cent of the area which forms southern Punjab, having a separate identity. She alleged that bulk of the provincial budget was spent on central Punjab.

“It is time to strengthen the Senate further. All have made mistakes it is time now to accept those and move forward. The judges could have stood up before the dictators, least caring about the consequences and political parties and the civil society should have followed suit,” said PML-N Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi.

He emphasised it was more incumbent upon political parties to act strictly in accordance with the Constitution, shutting the doors to NROs. Senator Abbasi also called for addressing the disconnect between masses and the Parliament by mitigating their sufferings.

Senator Usman Kakar of PkMAP lamented that military dictators were defended by different political parties. He called for amending the Constitution further to empowering the Senate at par with the National Assembly, establishing supreme courts in each province and a constitutional court in the Centre and abolition of FCR in FATA.

PML-Q Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the Constitution is a way forward to making the country democratically strong. He appreciated Bhutto for evolving consensus on the national document but noted that there were some lacunas and at the top was that the Senate should have more powers, giving semblance of equal powers...’Pakistan is a federation and all provinces are equal.’

He called for reversing this wrong. Senator Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldeni of BNP-Mengal, while giving credit to Bhutto and other political leaders of that time, noted that shortly after the Constitution was adopted, amendments were made in it, which sent a wrong signal to the provinces and bitterness of that time could not be mitigated even now.

“Giving red carpet send-off to Musharraf shows that the Constitution is still in some sort of cage and there is a need to free it and all should follow it,” he said.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi decried the fact that with the passage of time, both the legislators and masses had forgotten the Constitution and also forgot to defend it.