There is a growing sense of urgency, amongst the parliamentarians as well as the general public, to find a sustainable solution to the constitutional dilemma which was imposed on the country on November 3 last year when the then General Musharraf imposed ‘martial law’ and assumed the position of supreme “Law-giver’ of this country. People want the government to focus on other issues that they face which can only happen once this crises is resolved for good as it has become the priority number one since March 9, 2007 last year. At that time everyone was wondering how Musharraf could expect his acts to be indemnified by a future national assembly and the parliament on the whole, especially so when it was widely perceived that the votes would be against his policies and against his supporters who had bred and nurtured during his rule under the umbrella of ‘Pakistan Muslim League’, which came along sometimes with a ‘Q’ and sometimes without it. This party was so short in self-belief that it had to change names in a failed attempt to create an impression in the minds of people that it was indeed the ‘real’ Muslim League headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Now that the new government can be said to have been formed almost completely in all provinces as well as in the center, one can expect the coalition partners getting together to come to a quick but just solution in order to overcome the illegalities of the November acts. It would be hard for anyone, including the Pakistan People’s Party which has edged out all other political parties overall, to ignore the concern and voice of others and the smaller parties are likely to have a greater voice than at any time in the past mostly because they assume greater leverage whenever no single party enjoys a clean majority.
The present talk of a constitutional package which is being linked with the issue of the restoration of the judiciary is a calculated move of the Pakistan People’s Party which wants to get over the bitter truths of the past and wants to resolve constitutional issues at the earliest and with the least possible hue and cry over it. It is presupposed that most of these packages would include indemnification of most acts of General Musharraf. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz would try and alienate these two separate and distinct issues which must be resolved differently and not through the passing of a resolution. According to PML(N), the Murree Declaration had nothing to do with the indemnification of Musharraf’s acts or some constitutional package which might have similar effects.
The first issue, the restoration of the judges is not any indemnification, rather the complete opposite of that in the sense that an unconstitutional measure would be thrown out of the window in a civilized and democratic manner by using the forum of the masses, which is the Parliament. The next issue is a totally different one and must be given due diligence and care before coming to a solution. This issue being: which acts of Musharraf to legalize and indemnify by using the Parliamentary procedure provided under the Constitution? What is the procedure of doing so? As to the latter question, no resolution or executive order in this world would be able to achieve this and the only way out is through a Constitutional amendment which can only be achieved by a two-thirds majority. Before passage of such Bill however, it must be duly scrutinized by the Parliament even if it means that most of the steps of General Musharraf do not find respect in a final draft. Rather than setting a dangerous precedent for the future or a repetition of the recent past when the MMA helped General Musharraf amend the Constitution by incorporating the 17th amendment in the Constitution, the political forces riding together in the coalition must show greater maturity now. One must also not forget that General Musharraf ‘broke’ his promise to MMA to step down as army chief after the promulgation of 17th amendment, if one were to believe the MMA.
It is true that there are other issues which need the immediate attention of the government and it must find ways to resolve the preliminary issues which were unnecessarily imposed upon them through the act of a single man who has tried to link his own future with that of this country. The political parties must be in total unison in distancing themselves from such measures and any indemnification must be of only those acts which are non-controversial, absolutely essential and do which do not set a precedent for the future.
Now that the new government can be said to have been formed almost completely in all provinces as well as in the center, one can expect the coalition partners getting together to come to a quick but just solution in order to overcome the illegalities of the November acts. It would be hard for anyone, including the Pakistan People’s Party which has edged out all other political parties overall, to ignore the concern and voice of others and the smaller parties are likely to have a greater voice than at any time in the past mostly because they assume greater leverage whenever no single party enjoys a clean majority.
The present talk of a constitutional package which is being linked with the issue of the restoration of the judiciary is a calculated move of the Pakistan People’s Party which wants to get over the bitter truths of the past and wants to resolve constitutional issues at the earliest and with the least possible hue and cry over it. It is presupposed that most of these packages would include indemnification of most acts of General Musharraf. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz would try and alienate these two separate and distinct issues which must be resolved differently and not through the passing of a resolution. According to PML(N), the Murree Declaration had nothing to do with the indemnification of Musharraf’s acts or some constitutional package which might have similar effects.
The first issue, the restoration of the judges is not any indemnification, rather the complete opposite of that in the sense that an unconstitutional measure would be thrown out of the window in a civilized and democratic manner by using the forum of the masses, which is the Parliament. The next issue is a totally different one and must be given due diligence and care before coming to a solution. This issue being: which acts of Musharraf to legalize and indemnify by using the Parliamentary procedure provided under the Constitution? What is the procedure of doing so? As to the latter question, no resolution or executive order in this world would be able to achieve this and the only way out is through a Constitutional amendment which can only be achieved by a two-thirds majority. Before passage of such Bill however, it must be duly scrutinized by the Parliament even if it means that most of the steps of General Musharraf do not find respect in a final draft. Rather than setting a dangerous precedent for the future or a repetition of the recent past when the MMA helped General Musharraf amend the Constitution by incorporating the 17th amendment in the Constitution, the political forces riding together in the coalition must show greater maturity now. One must also not forget that General Musharraf ‘broke’ his promise to MMA to step down as army chief after the promulgation of 17th amendment, if one were to believe the MMA.
It is true that there are other issues which need the immediate attention of the government and it must find ways to resolve the preliminary issues which were unnecessarily imposed upon them through the act of a single man who has tried to link his own future with that of this country. The political parties must be in total unison in distancing themselves from such measures and any indemnification must be of only those acts which are non-controversial, absolutely essential and do which do not set a precedent for the future.
