KARACHI: Role of army, Politicians & judiciary debated
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 6: All the successive civilian and military governments as well as Legislature and Judiciary failed to provide the country with a solidly workable system in order to run all its affairs in an appropriate and orderly manner over a period of more than half-a-century.
This was observed by politicians while speaking at a seminar on The Role of Politicians, Army and Judges in Pakistan Politics held at a local hotel on Sunday under the auspices of Tehreek-i-Istiqlal, Sindh. The TI President, Rehmat Khan Wardag, presided over the seminar. Among the participants were former Sindh Governor Lt-Gen (r) Moinuddin Haider, Imdad Chandio of PML(N), Sindh, Qari Sher Afzal of JUI (Fazl), Malik Hamid Sarfraz, Ahmad Dara and Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh.
The vital components of the state, they said, failed to fulfil their responsibilities in building the nation and create a perfect mechanism.
“Instead of shifting the blame on others for the mess the whole nation is experiencing, we must start afresh now,” one of the speakers stressed advising the ruling clique as well as the masses to ensure justice, respect people’s mandate, and put in every effort to establish a practising democracy in the country.
The speakers also believed that democracy should come from the bottom, i.e. political parties which should hold fair elections in accordance with the parties’ constitution. Dispensation of justice and handling of the country’s affairs should also be based on the principles as enunciated by Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat Ali Khan and Sardar Nishtar, they said.
Lt-Gen Moin Haider said that politicians did have the right to rule and everybody expected them to follow the footprints of the Quaid-i-Azam, and his fellow statesmen of Muslim League. He said that politicians were expected to serve people and not the vested interests. If they stick themselves to the same principles, they would enjoy full support from the armed forces. However, he regretted, the armed forces had to intervene when politicians deviate from these principles or there was any threat to the country’s geographical borders. “It is the armed forces’ duty to safeguard the country’s borders and ideology,” he remarked.
He blamed politicians for failing to provide a Constitution to the country even nine years after the creation of Pakistan. Why were only three institutions made accountable for the lapse and the role of Ghulam Muhammad and Iskander Mirza ignored? he asked.
In fact, he alleged, political parties infiltrated into every institution instead of organizing themselves from grass-roots level by practising democracy.
Gen Haider pointed out that the armed forces had stayed away from politics between 1988 and 1999 and remained aloof until Nawaz Sharif himself invited them to intervene. He said that Mr Sharif started acting in a manner contrary to the national interest by removing the Chief of Army staff. He said the ex-PM had forced one general to tender his resignation while another was already sent home prematurely.
He said President Musharraf had fulfilled his commitment to restore democracy after three years and now he was working to strengthen the system he had introduced.
Qari Sher Afzal, Deputy Secretary General of JUI(F), tracing history, accused the armed forces of not allowing politicians to enforce Islamic system. “Instead of being God-fearing, our rulers are US-fearing,” he remarked claiming that they were ready to accomplish any task for the sake of remaining in power.
Malik Hamid Sarfraz, Vice President of TI, stressed the need for issue-based politics and said, “The situation had complicated when the three pillars of the state — politicians, army and judiciary lost balance and as a result, none of them could do justice neither with the state or its people, nor with the institutions.
Imdad Chandio, President of PML(N) Sindh, defending the role of politicians said that the politicians had given more sacrifices than any other component of the state.
He called for the closure of ‘nurseries of politicians at the GHQ’ and said that people should be left free to elect their own representatives. He recalled that a politician deviating from the assignment given by the GHQ was made Bhutto or Nawaz Sharif.
Qaiser Ahmad Shaikh, the TI Chairman, emphasized the need for politicians to base their politics on principles instead of looking towards army to reach power corridors.
He admitted that whenever a coup was staged, politicians always welcomed it. Likewise, he said, judiciary’s role had become debatable following emergence of Maulvi Tameezuddin case.
Mr Shaikh stressed the need for the resolution of Kashmir issue which, he opined, would lead to reduction in military spending.
The savings, he added, could be utilized in the country’s development activities. Regional trade could also be boosted, he added.
Ahmad Dara, the Sindh chief of TI, conducted the seminar’s proceedings.
