News
Sunday, January 02, 2011
President signs 19th Amendment Bill
All ‘political actors’ have failed: Zardari
* President terms 19th Amendment new year gift for nation
* Says all legislation will be done with mutual consensus in future
Staff Report
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said the ‘political actors’ had tried to sell negative and bad impression in the market, but failed.
Speaking on the occasion after signing the 19th Amendment Bill, Zardari termed it “a new year gift of democracy for the nation”. Now the document is the property of the nation, he said.
“I salute the role of the Supreme Court in the 19th Amendment as majesty of law to remain a prime objective for our government,” the remarked.
“We believe in consensus document like the 19th Amendment and earlier the 18th Amendment and will take everyone onboard despite majority,” he said.
In future as well, the legislation would be done through mutual consensus and by taking along all political forces, Zardari said.
Today’s constitutional milestone proved that history is made through political foresight, he said.
Earlier, Mian Raza Rabbani said the passing of the 19th Amendment by parliament was a historical success of the democratic forces. The credit goes to all political parties, he said, hoping that the political forces would continue to express sagacity in the future.
Rabbani said the amendment envisages a new system for appointments in the superior courts, and aims at settling a potential source of discord between the judiciary and parliament.
Under the amendment, the number of senior judges as members of the Judicial Commission has been raised to four while the number of members of the parliamentary committee for the appointment of chief election commissioner has been increased to 12.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk