LAHORE, Feb 27: Former foreign and finance minister Sartaj Aziz has urged the government to set up a national commission to prepare a draft of amendments to the Constitution which should be placed before next parliament for approval.

He was speaking at a seminar on “Political and economic requirements for national stability” arranged by the Istehakam Forum at the Hamdard Centre here on Wednesday.

Opposing the idea of amending the Constitution by the president, he said that the Constitution should not be amended to enable the military to perpetuate its rule over the country. He said that the nation needed a constitutional structure with a consensus among the provinces. He said that next to a consensus-based constitutional structure Pakistan needed strong institutions which had decayed during the past two decades. Unless there were strong institutions of parliament, executive and judiciary and financial institutions democracy could not function properly nor would there be any financial discipline in the country.

He said that democracy was strong in India because of its strong institutions. He cited the example of the recent provincial elections held in India which, he said, had been accepted by all parties because these were conducted by a strong election commission which had the powers even to challenge the actions of the prime minister or any minister. Similarly, judiciary was also quite strong and independent unlike Pakistan, parliament was also a strong institution there.

He said that in addition to strong institutions a stable nation required a democratic culture and conventions which were more important than all the institutions for democracy to flourish. He said that there was no written constitution in England yet the democracy was functioning there on the strength of democratic conventions.

Mr Sartaj Aziz said that Pakistan had three major issues soon after it came into being in 1947. These pertained to the form of the government, parliamentary or presidential; the quantum of provincial autonomy and the relationship between the state and Islam. Unfortunately the Quaid-i-Azam and other leaders of the Pakistan Movement had died within three to four years of its existence who could guide the nation about its future constitutional setup. The first constitution framed after nine years of debate was scrapped two years later by the military. The 1962 constitution was also scrapped by the military and another constitution was enforced in 1973 which had been distorted again by the military by moving as many as 56 amendments in the form of the Eigth Amendment. Now again the military was talking about changing the constitution.

Referring to the relationship between the state and Islam, he said that the people wanted the Islam as interpreted by Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-i-Azam and not the one by the clergy. They wanted Pakistan to be a modern progressive Islamic country free of all sectarianism, extremism and ethnic prejudices. He said that President Pervez Musharraf’s speech of Jan 12 last was realistic and a milestone in defining the role of Islam in Pakistan.

Mr Aziz also discussed at length the economic scenario and said that after the Sept 11 incident the economic situation had greatly improved following the lifting of the economic sanctions by the US and other western countries which had been imposed soon after Pakistan had carried out its nuclear tests. He said that it was heartening to note that the production of wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton had increased and even Pakistan had started exporting its wheat. He said that more vigorous efforts were required to attract local and foreign investment in the country by creating a peaceful and conducive investment climate in the country.

Former foreign minister Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali also vehemently opposed the amendments being proposed to the Constitution by President Pervez Musharraf and said that a consensus of the people of all the four provinces was necessary to bring in any amendment, if necessary, to the Constitution. He said that such a consensus was required to save the federation of Pakistan from any harm in the future. He said that the demands of various provinces for more autonomy could be met by transferring them subjects from the concurrent list of the Constitution.

Referring to President Musharraf’s desire for bringing in what he called a workable democracy in the country and his determination to hold general elections of parliament and provincial assemblies, he said that the nation had been much disappointed with the recent elections of local bodies. He said that if elections were rigged to get the persons of the government choice elected then Pakistan would be heading for a great political and constitutional crisis. He said that no amendments were required to the Constitution. The people only wanted fair and impartial elections and if the president wanted to retain himself in the President’s House, he should adopt the constitutional method and “we may vote for him as next president of the country because we believe that he had done something good for the country.” He should adopt a democratic and constitutional way to retain his presidency.

He said that the repeal of the constitutional provision under Article 58-2 B by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had done a great harm and shattered the balance of power between the president and the prime minister. Had it not been repealed, the military would have not taken over.

Former foreign minister said that economic stability was a necessary prerequisite to political stability as big powers like the Osmania Caliphate in Turkey in the past and the USSR in recent times collapsed because of their economic weaknesses and heavy expenditure on defence and security matters. He said that the war of 1965 was not necessary. It was a necessity of a military dictator who wanted to continue his rule after rigging his election. He also criticized the previous governments’ use of religion for political purposes which, he said, prompted them to encourage jihadi culture in the country, a culture which resulted in a heavy loss of precious lives of the people of Pakistan. He appreciated the present government’s efforts against the jihadi organizations and sectarianism.

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Dr Khalid Javid emphasised the need for nationalism and a permanent process of accountability for the progress of the country. He said that strong institutional framework was also necessary for the political and economic stability of the country as he believed that the present political crisis was the result of institutional decay of the country. He said that public and private partnership was necessary for the economic survival of the country. He said that businessmen were as patriotic as any other section of society but every government had been meting out step-motherly treatment to them. He said that economic policies should be framed by taking businessmen and industrialists into confidence as they were the backbone of the country’s economic development.