ISLAMABAD: Leaders of major political parties vowed on Tuesday to protect and defend the 1973 Cons­titution at all costs, warning that there were “ongoing systematic efforts” by “undemocratic elements” to derail parliamentary democracy in the country.

Speaking at a seminar on “The Concept of Parlia­men­tary Democracy and Fede­ra­lism - Constitution of Pakistan 1973”, the speakers also pledged to resist any move to change the parliamentary form of governance to a presidential system, saying that any attempt to change the basic structure of the 1973 Constitution would be detrimental to the federation.

The seminar was organised by the Senate of Pakistan in the lawn in front of the Presidency to mark the conclusion of the celebrations of “Constitution Day” and was attended by representatives of the media and the civil society.

The day was celebrated across the country to mark the passage of the present Constitution by the legislative assembly on April 10 and its signing by the then president on April 12, 1973.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana and Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai were among the key speakers at the seminar presided over by Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani.

PkMAP chief Mehmood Achakzai, in his hard-hitting speech, said the Pashtoons, Sindhis, Seraikis and Baloch had been living in the country as “colonies” of the Punjab. “We want to live in this country, but not as second-grade citizens,” he said, adding: “In the undemocratic Pakistan where we have been living as colonies, it is a sin to raise the slogan of Pakistan zindabad.”

Mr Achakzai said that the internal and external policies of the country should originate from Parliament.

The PkMAP chief regretted that so far, no dictator had been convicted under Article 6 of the Constitution. “Article 6 must be amended and it should say that the day the constitution will be abrogated, the federation must cease.”

In an emotionally-charged speech, Mr Rabbani regretted that since the country’s inception in 1947, the “establishment” had not recognised the fact that Pakistan was a “multi-ethnic and multi-lingual” state. The establishment, he said, had always remained opposed to the idea of giving autonomy to the provinces despite the fact that its paradigm that a strong centre was a must for a strong Pakistan had proven wrong.

The concept of a strong centre and an experiment of running Pakistan under the presidential system for almost a decade had already failed in the past resulting in the country’s disintegration, Mr Rabbani said, in an apparent reference to the 1962 Constitution and separation of East Pakistan in 1971. Besides the creation of “22 rich families”, he said, the presidential system had caused a rift between the federation and the federating units.

“Those who are writing nowadays that Parliament has failed and those who are calling for imposition of a presidential system should learn a lesson from history,” he added. “The Himalayas will weep and then the floods of their tears may change the boundaries of the present federation if any attempt is made to derail the democratic system and alter the basic features of the 1973 Constitution,” he warned.

The Senate chairman alleged that the establishment considered Parliament the biggest hurdle in the state structure, accusing it of “systematically marginalising” the political class.

Mr Rabbani said he had the “moral courage to admit” that politicians had committed mistakes, corruption and bad governance. But at the same time, he said, all major stakeholders and other institutions must also show courage and admit that “they are all corrupt, committed follies and have abrogated the Constitution.”

Earlier, KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said that smaller provinces had never been given their rights. He said that he had to raise slogans in front of the parliament house only to get the rights for his people that had been enshrined in the constitution.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said his province also had grievances on certain issues and had complaints with the rulers, but not with the constitution. He was of the view that the making of a new constitution was not possible as it would not be possible for the political leadership of the country to have a consensus on any new document.

Mr Shah, who was part of the 29-member committee that had drafted the 1973 Constitution, mostly talked about the difficulties faced by them at the time of its draft and how those were removed due to the dynamic leadership of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana in his speech criticised those politicians and lawmakers who had provided support to dictators in the past and provided legitimacy to the military rules. He called for continuity of the democratic set-up in the country. He admitted that there was a sense of deprivation among some provinces, but said that no one could imagine running the federation without taking along all the federating units.

Opposition Leader in the Senate Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan of the PPP quoted some court judgments from the past which provided legal cover to military takeovers under the infamous “doctrine of necessity”.

“We need to stand with the Constitution and resist intrusions by undemocratic elements,” he said.

Leader of House in Senate and PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq claimed that the federation was getting stronger and cohesive, economy was progressing and democracy was taking firm roots due to the policies of the incumbent government. He said that the historic 18th Constitution Amendment had restored balance among all the institutions.

Renowned TV anchor Hamid Mir and human rights activist IA Rehman also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2016