KARACHI, March 26: The Pakistan People’s Party on Saturday denied that it had struck a deal with dictators and maintained that it would continue struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution and the parliament. “We have struck a deal with the people of Pakistan and there will not be any deal with dictators or generals,” said PPP-P chief Makhdoom Amin Fahim while referring to reports about a deal between the PPP and the government at the launching of a book by the former deputy speaker of the national assembly Dr Ashraf Abbasi. He made it clear that PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto would only opt for the supremacy of people and their rights and aspirations reflected in the parliament and the Constitution. Amin Fahim, who is also the chairman of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), said that Pakistan’s salvation lay in the defence of the 1973 Constitution as it existed prior to Oct 12, 1999 military intervention. He said that when ARD initiated its movement it was also premised on the restoration of undiluted democracy and restoration of the Constitution 1973.
He termed the prevailing political, economic and security situation in the country highly explosive and in this context cited the Balochistan situation. He claimed that it was due to government’s deliberate policies of breeding disharmony.
In Balochistan, he said, people were struggling for their rights but unfortunately force had been used against them and troops were targeting own countrymen. He stressed the need for resolving the issue through dialogue and said that the PPP was striving for that within the parliamentary committee as well as outside the parliament. He also expressed surprise over the ruling party’s inability to take the opposition into confidence over the recommendations of parliamentary committee’s meeting with Nawab Bugti and then by another delegation comprising Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain on the pretext that he had given assurance to Nawab Akbar Bugti not to say anything for three days.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim said his party was working for securing complete provincial autonomy for smaller provinces as enshrined in Constitution 1973 which had envisaged demise of the concurrent list after a time frame.
He chided the government on claiming significant improvement in economic, political and security environment for which Gen Pervez Musharraf had given seven points in which he had promised to promote ethnic and religious harmony. But he pointed out
that today there was more ethnic and religious disharmony. Claims about economic health and foreign investment were also deceptive because the graph of unemployment and suicide was on the rise and there was alarming increase in crime and disorder.
About military interventions, Makhdoom Amin Fahim referred to Article-6 of the Constitution which had stipulated punishment for an act of treason. He asked why those who validated such deviation from the constitution under law of necessity had not been penalized. He called for punishing such people and taking stern step that could deter Bonapartists.
Paying tributes to late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for giving this country the constitution and enabling Pakistan to acquire nuclear capability, he maintained that the PPP was firmly behind Benazir Bhutto who he claimed would not abdicate the people.
Earlier, former governor Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim sounded a warning against constructional deviation and said it was the last chance to mend the ways once for all and to strengthen the constitutional moorings.
Referring to some reports about a deal between government and political parties, Justice Ibrahim stressed that there should be “no deal in as far as 1973 constitution was concerned.” He said that 1973 constitution was Mr Bhutto’s biggest achievement and stressed that without constitutional supremacy there would be no progress.
Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, MMA’s senator from Islamabad also paid tributes to Mr Bhutto for the constitution and nuclear capability. He criticized the federal information minister for his statement about Dr A.Q. Khan’s alleged involvement in providing nuclear secrets to Iran. He said that because of government policies pressure on Pakistan had increased and now Gen Musharraf was talking of handing over centrifuge to the IAEA.
He also called for national consensus between the MMA and the ARD to tide over the current difficult situation.
Dr Ashraf Abbasi, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Ghazi Salahuddin, Sirajul Haq Memon and others also spoke on the occasion.
