July 23, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 26, 1427

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PESHAWAR, July 22: Speakers at a seminar on future of democracy on Saturday underlined the need for bringing to an end the “military adventurism” which had “promoted political expediency and stalled growth of democratic culture in the country.”

The seminar on charter of democracy was organised by MPA Abdul Akbar Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians to highlight the importance of the document jointly authored by the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League (N) on May 14 last in London.

PPP Deputy General Secretary Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Awami National Party Central Vice President Haji Mohammad Adeel, NWFP senior minister and Jamaat-i-Islami provincial Amir Sirajul Haq, Begum Nasim Wali Khan, PML (N) provincial chief Pir Sabir Shah, PPP provincial President Rahimdad Khan, JI Naib Amir Senator Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, PML (N) parliamentary leader in NWFP Assembly Anwar Kamal Khan Marwat, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s Abdul Jalil Jan and Barrister Masood Kausar spoke on the “role of military adventurism and its effects on the body politics of the country.”

Senator Raza Rabbani said if the charter had been authored in 1947, Pakistan would have an ideal political environment. He said Justice Munir would not write an unjust verdict nor would the civil-cum-military bureaucracy promote palace intrigues in the country. He said after realising the gravity of things both the former prime ministers - Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif - had identified the prime causes of the failure of democracy.

He said that an independent judiciary, an independent election commission and an independent institution of accountability were essential to do away with the military coups, rampant corruption, tax evasion and other socio-economic ills.

He said in the authors of the charter of democracy had proposed a transparent mechanism for the selection and appointment of judges of superior courts, chief election commissioner and chief of accountability institution.

The present military rulers, Mr Rabbani said, had made a mockery of the justice and accountability by installing corrupt persons on the federal cabinet. He said the National Accountability Bureau, which had become a Benazir-specific agency, was silent over many scandals, including privatisation of the Steel Mills, hoarding of sugar, bungling in purchase of railway engines, wagons and black cabs, crash of stock exchange, lease of state land to Mercedes Benz as well as the cement scandals.

He said the NAB should take action against the prime minister, the minister for privatisation, the leader of sugar cartel in the cabinet and others involved in the “unprecedented malpractice”.

He said the military was being used against the patriotic people of Balochistan and Waziristan for prolonging the dictatorship in the country.

“Military action is not a permanent solution to the Balochistan issue. It is a political issue and must be solved in a political way. Balochs have done nothing wrong, they are asking for their economic rights,” he said.

The PPP leader said ANP’s suggestions regarding provincial autonomy would be discussed and incorporated into the charter. He said the charter was not a divine scripture or a final word from the two major political parties. Suggestion would be welcome in the future, he added.

In his speech, Pir Sabir Shah said Gen. Ayub Khan, Gen. Yahya Khan, Gen. Zia and Gen. Musharraf were responsible for the failure of democracy in Pakistan. He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, an architect of the country’s nuclear programme, and Mian Nawaz Sharif, who ordered nuclear tests, were punished respectively for bringing back 90,000 prisoners of war and saving the adventurists from India.

JI leader Sirajul Haq endorsed the charter and said it had set the rules of future political game in Pakistan.