The PPP-led coalition government has scored another success in the shape of the unanimous constitutional package. President Asif Ali Zardari deserves credit for achieving consensus. Moreover, he deserves extra marks for voluntarily surrendering his powers.

Although there are some irritating clauses in the bill, especially the one absolving political parties of holding the intra-party election, in its totality the bill encompasses many good things.

For the first time politicians have shown astonishing unity, maturity and extraordinary tolerance towards each other's point of view and have agreed on a plethora of thorny issues, including the change of the name of the NWFP, addressing provincial autonomy and other related issues.

The media also deserves credit for not creating controversies. It was because of the high pressure by the media that Nawaz Sharif showed flexibility and conceded to the demands of all mainstream and small political parties.

Unlike the past, this time almost all parliamentary parties proved to the nation, proponents of dictators and worldwide that Pakistani politicians are also capable of handling and solving highly sensitive issues of national importance.

Regrettably the nationalists, a divided house among themselves, had always accused the PPP of selling itself to Punjab and causing more damage to the interests of Sindh than any other ruler from any other province.

Now when the grievances of the smaller provinces have been addressed, and hopefully the Constitution would be restored to its true spirit, political parties of all hues should focus on making Pakistan a welfare state.

Shoaib Usto, a prominent political economist, correctly stressed the need for shunning the debate on defining the state of Pakistan as a moderate or theoretic state.

Most nations had closed this debate long ago and are working for the welfare of the people.

There is no way other than making Pakistan a secular democratic state. And the people of Pakistan have repeatedly given their verdict by rejecting the religious parties in elections and giving a mammoth mandate to secular parties.

More than 100 million of our population is under 25. We have to give them hope and utilise our national energies and resources to make them productive for themselves, their families and for the state of Pakistan.

GULSHER PANHWER
Johi

(II)

THE National Assembly has passed the 18th Amendment Bill unanimously to purge the Constitution of rubbish dumped into it by successive dictators. This is a rare occasion for national celebration because the government now can concentrate on mundane issues related to the economic difficulties of the people.

Meanwhile, some strongly dissenting voices have been heard in the opposition to clauses pertaining to appointment of judges, provincial autonomy, renaming of the NWFP and creating more provinces.

These voices may be genuine but the 18th amendment is not the last amendment and as such it is not the end of history. More amendments will, hopefully, follow in due course of time as the democratic process progresses and matures.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary consensus embodied in the 18th Amendment need not be wasted, otherwise Pakistan will remain stuck on square one and will not move forward. One single alteration of the basic law of the country cannot satisfy all stakeholders.

In my opinion, the dissenters whose sincerity need not be doubted must realise that the greater good of the 18th Amendment will vanish on the altar of their apparently excessive demands which can be considered in the next round of changes.

Let the nation breathe a sigh of relief for the time being. The aspirations of the legal community and the complaints of smaller regions and smaller provinces will echo and find a way into the fundamental law of Pakistan at an appropriate time when the furore over the latest changes has calmed down.

If, however, the complainants become increasingly noisy and possibly violent, the gains made so far will be lost. The blame for this loss will find its parking at the doors of the agitators who appear short-sighted and more emotional than pragmatic.

It is always better to see the bright side of things. A glass seen as half full is always superior to a glass seen as half empty.

It is equally rewarding to take a close look at constitutions of the rest of the world which have grown over a long period of time. We need to develop traditions which take time to become part of our political psychology. The British constitution, for example, is largely unwritten but it is more durable than most written documents.

A social contract is useless if it is not allowed to grow. The deafening noise against certain changes of the Constitution of Pakistan is counterproductive and is more than likely to backfire in the face of agitators. Therefore, caution and patience are strongly recommended.

B. A. MALIK
Islamabad