News
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
History almost remade, but still a lot of work to be doneBy Muhammad Akram
LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is on the verge of creating history, yet again: the first PPP government under the leadership of its founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, gave the nation its first unanimous constitution and now the fourth government led by Asif Ali Zardari is purging it off the amendments made by military dictators from 1977 to 1988 and then from 1999 to 2008.
It is indeed a “Benazir moment”, as stated by President Asif Ali Zardari in his third consecutive address to the joint session of parliament. The address to the joint session by an elected president is itself historic, because during the last three decades marred largely by the rule of two military dictators – 11 years under Zia and nine years under Musharraf – no truly democratically elected government has been allowed to complete its five-year term in power, hence no president has been able to address parliament for three consecutive years.
With the purging of the constitution of all undemocratic and undesired amendments in a parliamentary democracy, the address was also a statement that the once-haunted Presidency had been cleared of power-intoxicated individuals once and for all. Asif Ali Zardari seems to be all set to assume a new role for his own self and the office of the president he is holding. He appeared to be quite clear in saying that the office of the co-chairman of the PPP was the ultimate source of power, which he is holding unchallenged.
By handing over the undemocratically assumed powers to parliament, Zardari has become politically more powerful. He has earned goodwill and several political friends by empowering the people of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtoonkhawah, and the 18th Amendment will also do away with the concurrent list. The granting of provincial autonomy would be, in fact, the completion of an unfinished agenda set in the Lahore resolution of 1940 that paved the way for the creation of Pakistan by dividing the sub-continent into two independent states in 1947. The doing away with the concurrent list and granting autonomy to provinces would in fact amount to correcting a historical mistake for which the present parliament deserves all the credit.
At this moment, when the nation is celebrating the restoration of the original 1973 constitution, one must remember that the Pakistan that existed before the passage of the 1973 constitution was comparatively more liberal and progressive despite the fact that it had suffered from political turmoil and two martial laws.
One does find it hard to believe today that the pre-1973 Pakistan was more religiously tolerant and that social and religious values had not degenerated to the level that they have at the present. But certainly, one can hope that with democracy working unbridled and political parties becoming a true reflection of the aspiration of the people, the expectation could be raised that instead of an objective’s resolution, the August 11, 1947 speech of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah be made part of the preamble of the constitution, wherein he declared that religion had nothing to do with the state and that all citizens irrespective of their belief and creed were equal before the state.
It is important for parliament to know that now, more than before, it will be expected to act wisely on the words of the president and evolve a strategy under which it can underline its own foreign policy sans the advise of the security establishment. Needless to mention, the present parliament comprises more of those who had been seeking friendly ties with India than of warmongers. The PPP and the PML-N have been victims of seeking friendly ties with India
Parliament can best serve the nation by making itself authoritative with responsibility and not letting anyone steal the mandate meant only for it.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk