03 November 2004	Wednesday	19 Ramazan 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: President Gen Pervez Musharraf would violate the Constitution by giving assent to the two offices bill passed by both houses of Parliament as it was related to his personal interests, the combined opposition claimed here on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters after staging a walkout at the Senate, leaders of People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP), Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also threatened to try Gen Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution which specified the act of high treason for subversion and abrogation of the Constitution by use of force, show of force or any other means.

Senator Raza Rabbani said by giving assent to the bill, Gen Musharraf would be violating the oath of his office which specifically underlined that the president would not take any decision involving his personal interests.

He said the two offices bill specified that it was for Gen Musharraf and by giving assent to it, he would be violating the Constitution.

Senator Rabbani said the combined opposition, including the MMA and the ARD, was holding talks to launch protest against President Gen Pervez Musharraf after Eidul Fitr both inside and outside the Parliament. He said all democratic forces should have a collective strategy for the restoration of the Constitution.

MMA leader Senator Prof Khursheed Ahmed said the bill passed by the Parliament was illegal as the latter could legislate only within the confines of a written Constitution. He said the Nuremberg Trial had set the precedence that those who passed illegal laws were liable to be punished.

He said the 17th Amendment had become illegal after the passage of the two offices bill and the country was once again at a stage where the presidency of Gen Musharraf and all amendments stood nullified.

Answering a question, he said the doors to negotiations with the government over the uniform issue were still open. He said ruling party's representative Senator Mushahid Hussain had called on him.

Replying to a question whether the opposition was in a position to get Article 6 enforced, senators Raza Rabbani, Prof Khursheed Ahmed and Saadia Abbassi seemed to accept the limitation of their threat as they conceded that only the federal government could authorize a person to move a case under high treason against any person.

Senator Khursheed said the MMA had proposed an amendment to laws which suggested that any person could move the courts to take cognizance of an offence committed under Article 6.

MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed had moved a motion in the National Assembly on October 12 to introduce a bill to amend Section 3 of the "High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973, through the "High Treason Punishment Amendment Bill, 2004". However, when it was listed on the agenda of the day on October 19, MMA staged a walkout with rest of the opposition members from the National Assembly and the bill could not be taken up for debate.

According to Constitutional experts, the provisions of Article 6 were incorporated in the Constitution keeping in view the military interventions in the country and it was proclaimed by the authors of the 1973 Constitution that with the insertion of Article 6, no one would dare to play with the Constitution.

Experts citing judgment in Nawaz Sharif vs Federation of Pakistan case as reported in PLD SC 473 said the Supreme Court observed, "Our enquiries made from the federal government reveal that the Constitution was framed in 1973, and the Parliament also discharged its duty on September 29, 1973 by framing the requisite law on the subject in terms of Section 3 of the High Treason (Punishment) Act 1973. The federal govt has not so far designated the authorized person on whose complaint such an offence can be taken cognizance or (of) by the court. The executive government, and that too since 1973, are not giving a (the) salutary Constitutional provision, a meaningful content and operational mechanism, thereby frustrating it altogether."