July 01, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 26, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 30: An “interactive session” on the constitutional reforms proposed by the PPP here on Monday produced lots of laments but not a solution to the latest constitutional impasse.

Retired bureaucrat Masud Mufti who chaired the session, arranged by the South Asia Free Media Association, had to conclude that “the invisible constitution” of the vested interests that has ruled Pakistan for the past 60 years will continue to operate until a pro-people political leadership and party emerge.

Opening the discussion Zafarullah Khan, executive director of the Centre for Civic Education, observed that majority of the 62 points in the PPP’s constitutional package concern judiciary. “By and large the points are within the basic structure of the Constitution and the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed by the PPP and PML-N in 2006,” he said.

However he found departures too from the CoD. Like the CoD called for abolishing the Concurrent List altogether but the package proposes to remove just 10 items from the list.

Three major promises made in the CoD find no place at all in the package — that Fata will be merged with NWFP; local bodies will be elected on party basis and that a Federal Constitutional Court will be established.

Mr Khan suggested making the “Principles of Policy” set for the government part of the Constitution as Gen Ziaul Haq had made the Objectives Resolution part of the Constitution.

Lawyer Athar Minallah who followed him argued for long that the question was not to reform the constitution “but to inculcate the spirit to respect the constitution”.

Though he had no quarrels with PPP’s “claims” that it wanted the parliament to be supreme, believed in institutions and not individuals and did not recognise President Musharraf’s acts of November 3, 2007 as constitutional, he found the package aiming at the very contrary.

What was “extremely alarming” was a proposal in the package that, he said, would whittle away Supreme Court’s constitutional jurisdiction under Article 184(3).

“This article gives the Supreme Court the power to rule on matters of public importance and that relate to fundamental rights. It took notice of or decided such issues as privatisation of the Steel Mills, environment, missing persons and pro-people suo motu actions,” he said.

Similarly, he said, the package proposes to out the Chief Justice from the appointment and removal of superior judges and leave it “to the mercy of the prime minister, the law minister” and the members of parliament.

“Judges are proposed to be removed by a commission to be headed by a ‘non-politicised’ former chief justice of the Supreme Court. Which judge would qualify as ‘non-politicised’ — Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui? Justice Wajeehuddin? Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim? or those who have the reputation of being unscrupulous and corrupt?” he asked.

“It is a minus one formula,” he said about the judicial reforms in the package.

Though the PPP claimed it was not indemnifying President Musharraf’s November 3 actions, Mr Minallah said, the addition of Article 270-AAA and 270-CC that it proposes in the package “go much beyond indemnification”.

Article 270-CC would recognise and treat as valid Judges Order 2007 which altered the Oath of Judges. “That is the only indemnification Musharraf requires,” he said.

Article 270-AAA, he added, would revive all ordinances issued between July 15, 2007 and December 15, 2007 that had lapsed for want of parliament’s approval, he said asking ‘why’? Legalising NRO under it would be understandable but not the ordinances issued after November 3 amending the Army Act to extend it to civilians, the Pemra law and the Bar Council and Practitioners Act were intended “I think, to jeopardise the supremacy of the constitution”.

Mr Minallah also disagreed with Mr Masud Mufti’s view that political parties and their leaders were equally insincere and responsible for today’s sorry state of affairs. They thrive on Noora Kushti (mock fights) and take turns to share the misrule by “the military-Mullah-Wadera alliance”, said Mr Mufti.

“For the sake of democracy, don’t blame the politicians,” pleaded Mr Minallah, seeking time for them to prove themselves.

“I don’t think the political parties took advantage of our (lawyers) movement or hijacked it. Our movement has gained a lot as the outside world no more consider us as a nation of terrorists,” he said responding to a comment from the audience that the movement politicised its mission with “Go Musharraf Go” slogans after deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was restored in his post on July 20, 2007.