Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Lower House vows to stand against any adventurism

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers from across the party lines in Lower House of parliament on Monday vowed to defend the constitution by standing against any adventurism to abrogate it.

The session held for election of speaker and deputy speaker of the new assembly witnessed debate following the demand by Pakhtunkhwa Awami Milli Party’s (PKMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai that all members should pledge to not support any extra-constitutional measure. Referring to oath document envisaging upholding the constitution, Achakzai said that mere words are not enough. “All of us should declare that we would not support anyone who abrogates the constitution,” he urged.

He called upon all the political parties to pledge that they would not take into their ranks anyone who abrogates the constitution. Achakzai’s words received wide appreciation in the House from other parliamentary groups. However, Zafarullah Jamali, Ijazul Haq and Dr Farooq Sattar said that oath is sufficient to show commitment to upholding the constitution.

Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) President Makhdoom Amin Fahim supported Ackakzai and declared that his party would never go against the constitution. “We will stand against any extra-constitutional adventure in the country,” Fahim vowed. He said that the PPPP’s history is marked with struggle against army dictators, saying the party fought against them for 25 years.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that people took oath to defend the constitution but these oaths were broken in the past. “We should start following the law by implementing it on ourselves,” he said. PTI’s Makhdoom Javed Hashmi assured his party’s support to all those who stand for keeping the constitution supreme. However, former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali said that the oath taken by the members was enough to uphold the constitution and there was no need for further pledge. PML-Z’s Ijazul Haq said that upholding the constitution is not just confined to Article 6 but also includes sovereignty and independence of the country.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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