ISLAMABAD: Taking exception to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s criticism of the 18th Amendment, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday warned that any tinkering with the present constitutional framework wo­uld have “disastrous effects” on the federation.

The PPP leaders in their statements condemned remarks by various government functionaries against the 18th Constitution Amendment and in favour of the presidential form of government. They pledged to resist all efforts to roll back the amendment as it safeguarded the provinces’ constitutional rights.

“The 18th Amendment and the parliament are the lifeline that holds the federation together. Any attempt to roll back the 18th Amendment will give rise to extreme movements of nationalism and even federalists can raise the slogan, let the provinces collect all taxes and the federation place its expenditures before the provinces,” PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said in a statement.

Mr Rabbani issued the statement in response to the prime minister’s remarks about the functioning of the parliament and the 18th Amendment which he had made during an interaction with former Pakistani diplomats and some journalists on Sunday.

Says any tinkering with the present constitutional framework will have disastrous effects

While giving an excuse for not bringing about the promised reforms, the prime minister had reportedly stated that the government was facing difficulties in enacting laws as it did not have the two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament and often legislations were blocked in the Senate where the opposition had the majority.

The premier had said that decision-making issues surfaced after the 18th Amendment and cited the example of difference in prices of wheat between Sindh and Punjab.

He had reportedly stated that the government was facing many issues after the 18th Constitution Amendment while the economy was moving in the right direction.

Commenting on the prime minister’s remarks, Mr Rabbani cited a proverb, “a poor workman always quarrels with his tools”, and said Mr Khan was blaming the 18th Amendment and the parliament as the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had failed to implement the party’s election theme of Tabdeeli (change).

Mr Rabbani said that it was incorrect that the parliament had blocked the legislation. The government, he added, had bulldozed several bills by overriding rules, bringing supplementary agendas and through horse trading.

Accusing the government of pursuing a foreign agenda of colonisation of Pakistan, he said all the bills of subjugation to the International Monetary Fund had been passed, but legislation for the people’s welfare could not be carried out. “The reason is a lack of political will.”

In a separate statement, PPP secretary general Nayyar Bokhari “condemned” continued criticism of the 18th Amendment by Mr Khan and his ministers.

He said it was “ridiculous” that sometimes the government starts blaming the 18th Amendment and at others its ministers issued statements in support of the presidential form of government only to hide their own “incompetence and failures”.

Mr Bokhari reminded the prime minister that more than half the members of his party sitting in the parliament had voted for the 18th Amendment.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2022