ISLAMABAD: Alarmed by the ‘imbalance’ of power between state organs, senators from both sides of the aisle on Thursday called for strict adherence to the Constitution and stressed that all state institutions must function within the parameters set for them by the green book.

During a debate on “State Institutions and their Role in the Scheme of Trichotomy of Powers”, members of the House not only criticised the army’s role in politics, including interventions in making and breaking political parties and governments, but also deplored military intervention and their legitimisation by courts.

Some senators, however, were gracious enough to concede failure of the parliament in playing its due role, and admitted that it, too, had carried out legislation under pressures and the diktats of ‘others’. They went to the extent of saying that many lawmakers upheld their personal interest above all, and focused on seeking favours and development funds. They said that military intervention could not be possible without the collusion of and invitations from politicians.

Senator Farhatullah Babar said at the heart of the matter was the systematic and deliberate shift of the locus of power from Islamabad to Rawalpindi, and noted that what was more dangerous was that the new locus was not held accountable.

Call for all institutions to function within their parameters

He said the phenomenon had been summed up by former army chief retired General Jehangir Karamat while commenting on the Legal Framework Order (LFO) of General Pervez Musharraf, saying that: “The LFO represents the longstanding desire of the military to re-write the civil-military equation along the military’s terms”.

The state is like a vehicle in which the person at the steering wheel has no control over the vital levers, he said, adding that sooner or later such a vehicle was fated to meet a disastrous accident.

“Musharraf used to tell the world that Osama Bin Laden had died of kidney ailment but OBL was found in your backyard,” he remarked.

Senator Babar said it was true that political parties and the judiciary had to shoulder responsible for the mess but, he added, the judiciary and political parties had also made some amends.

The judiciary had buried the concept of PCO judges and the political parties had joined hands in the Charter of Democracy, promising never to invite the intervention of undemocratic elements again.

He expressed grief over the parliament’s failure to enact a law for across the board accountability.

Senator Saud Majeed of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lashed out at the judiciary for invoking the doctrine of necessity to legitimise military rule.

He said the judges kept on taking oath under the PCO and gave powers to military dictators to amend the Constitution at their whim.

He also deplored that political parties had fallen prey to expediency and abandoned the plan for across-the-board accountability.

He, however, observed that certain politicians, who waited for the third umpire to raise his finger, were also to be blamed.

Senator Javed Abbasi of the PML-N said the parliament was embroiled in a perpetual game that aimed to weaken it.

He stressed that since it was the parliament that had framed the Constitution and determined the responsibilities of various institutions, it would keep a check on state organs.

He said the executive had also been subjected to excesses, but candidly conceded that it had also failed to perform its due role.

He said a vacuum was created when the executive failed to deliver. “Did the executive implement all the laws passed by the parliament,” he asked.

Senator Usman Kakar said the Supreme Court was most powerful institution but it had a sketchy record.

He said 90 per cent of the country’s problems could be solved if the court decided cases on the basis of the law and the Constitution.

He added that practically, it was the military establishment, not the people, at the centre of power.

Senator Jehanzaib Jamaldini was of the view that the appointments of services chiefs and judges should be made through the Senate. Senator Tahir Mashhadi said words like ‘hidden hands’, ‘powers that be’ and ‘establishment’ were abhorrent to the very concept of democracy. “Parliament is as strong as we make it,” he remarked, and said the parliament which created all the institutions enjoyed unlimited powers.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2017