LAHORE, July 31: Eminent lawyer S.M.Zafar has opposed the political role for the proposed national security council as he feared it would tarnish the image, integrity and discipline of the armed forces.

He was speaking at the monthly meeting of the Hamdard Thinkers Forum held at the Hamdard Centre here on Wednesday. He said that the council, if at all it was necessary to establish as suggested in the first package of the proposals for constitutional amendments, should have its role confined to defence and national security matters.

The political matters like removal of prime minister and dissolution of the National Assembly, if given to the council, would cause many constitutional, political and administrative complications and the political evils which had been polluting the political environment, would also creep into the armed forces tarnishing its image and destroying its capabilities. It would be desirable if the military was kept away from such an atmosphere.

He said that an non-elected national security council should not be given the right to meddle in the affairs of an elected National Assembly much less to dissolve it.

The forum after a thorough discussion on the constitutional amendments proposals which was participated in by over a dozen speakers adopted a resolution calling upon the government to ensure fair, free, impartial and transparent assembly elections scheduled to be held in October next. It said that electoral laws and rules should be immediately announced and political parties be allowed to start their political activities. The human rights organizations of the country and foreign observers should be invited to watch the elections. The political parties should also ensure that the no rigging and irregularities were committed in the elections and train their workers for this purpose.

The resolution welcomed the government’s decision to seek the public opinion on its constitutional packages and hoped that the people would give concrete proposals instead of indulging in a “discussion for the sake of discussion”. It said that some proposals were practicable like those relating to increase in the number of seats of the assemblies, increase in the number of seats for women, technocrats, reducing the voters minimum age to 18 years, joint electorates and increase in the powers of the Senate.

The resolution said that the Constitution was a social contract of the state with the people which should have minimum changes and that too was the right of parliament through a procedure laid down in the Constitution. The proposed amendment would be ultimately approved by parliament for which the people should elect right representatives. It appealed to the government to allow a delegation of the forums from the four provinces to submit its recommendations on the packages.

The participants in the discussion criticized the proposed national security council, its composition, role and the powers suggested in the package and as explained by President Pervez Musharraf in his broadcast to the nation and in his talks to various deputations. They said that the council which would mostly consist of the armed forces chiefs would undermine the authority of an elected parliament as it was proposed to have powers to suggest its dissolution and removal of an elected prime minister to president. They also discussed wide powers suggested for the president who, they said, would have no checks and balances which would be for prime minister who would be at the mercy of the pleasure of the national security council and president.

The participants included JUP secretary-general K.M.Azhar. Dr Muniruddin Chughtai, Dr Rafiq Ahmad, Sultan Muhammad Chaudhry, Ismael Qureishi, Humayun Ehsan, Chaudhry Bashir Ahmad, Farid Paracha of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Dr M.A. Soofi, Prof Abdul Jabbar Shakir, Ms Azra Khayal, Aftab Lodhi, I.H. Raashed.