SC asked to prevent military takeovers: ARD seeks probe into Kargil conflict
By Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Nov 15: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy called upon the Supreme Court on Saturday to take suo motu action to prevent military takeovers and stop generals from interfering in political matters.
The demand was made through a resolution passed at a plenary meeting of heads of the alliance’s component parties under the chairmanship of Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
The resolution welcomed the apex court’s recent decision that government officials were not supposed to take part in politics and that the field was the exclusive domain of political parties.
Maintaining that generals were also subject to Service Rules, the ARD resolution said that the Supreme Court should apply these rules to all government institutions to meet the ends of justice.
Although most of the parties in the ARD had taken an active part in movement against the PML-N government headed by Nawaz Sharif, they alleged through another resolution that Gen Musharraf had trampled the Constitution by overthrowing an elected government.
“The meeting demands that people responsible for violating the Constitution and bringing an end to people’s rule should be subjected to stern punitive action”.
The carefully-worded resolution stopped short of demanding action under Article 6 of the Constitution, which is capital punishment.
The resolution said that responding to the call contained in the anonymous letter to the national leadership — the disclosure of which had led to the arrest of PML-N’s acting president Javed Hashmi — the meeting demanded the establishment of a judicial commission to look into the Kargil war, the Oct 12, 1999 military takeover, the post-Sept 11 incidents and the role of the military leadership.
Condemning Javed Hashmi’s arrest, the resolution said it amounted to flagrant violation of the law, fundamental rights and democratic traditions. It called for freeing both the acting PML-N president and Mr Asif Ali Zardari.
Yet another resolution termed Parliament incomplete in in the absence of an elected president.
Similarly, it said, although parliament had been in existence for the past one year, it could not begin its parliamentary year as the president’s address to the joint session, which marks its advent, was still to be made.
The resolution called for a schedule of the president’s election as the one holding the office after referendum could not be accepted as the legitimate head of state.
The ARD pledged to the nation that it would not make any compromise on the supremacy of the Constitution and would not only continue but intensify its struggle in parliament and outside to get its demands accepted.
Later, Makhdoom Amin Fahim told reporters that he had contacted MMA leader Qazi Husain Ahmed on Saturday to propose that an all-party conference should be held to devise modalities of launching a joint struggle against the government. A date would be set through mutual consultations.
He said the ARD would hold a protest rally in Gujranwala on Dec 14, followed by another rally in Karachi on Dec 20.
The ARD chief said the information minister’s statement during his recent visit to India in which he had said that Pakistan would have to stop calling Kashmir as its jugular vein (and India as its integral part) to be able to resolve the dispute was in conflict with the Quaid-i-Azam’s views.
Participants of the meeting while condemning the increase in parliamentarians’ salaries and allowances, did not say that opposition lawmakers would not receive them.
He said a decision on the subject would be taken in consultation with leaders of other opposition parties.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim said the government had no power to take a decision on sending troops to Iraq and parliament alone was competent to decide the matter keeping in sight the objective conditions and national interests.
He alleged that the government’s foreign policy had isolated the country. Likewise, he said, the law and order situation was deteriorating fast. The Donga Bonga incident was condemned in strongest terms and the alliance decided to send a delegation to meet the victims’ families.
Referring to mid-term polls, the ARD chief said for the time being the alliance was struggling for the supremacy of the Constitution and parliament, hastily adding that the alliance was prepared to face fresh elections provided they were free, fair and transparent.
PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, Vice-President Tehmina Daultana, ARD Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Senior Vice- Chairman Mansoor Khan and provincial ARD leaders Qasim Zia and Khwaja Saad Rafiq were among the participants.
