KARACHI, April 18 Chief of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms Senator Mian Raza Rabbani has said that the constitution of 1973, which was framed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for the poor and labourers of the country but defaced by dictators, has been restored to its original form.
He was addressing PPP activists who gathered at the Karachi airport on Sunday and accorded him warm welcome upon his arrival from Islamabad after both houses of Parliament passed the 18th Amendment bill.
The PPP leader was accompanied by Federal Ministers Syed Naveed Qamar and Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.
The party workers were chanting slogans of “Jeay Bhutto” and “Jeay Benazir”. Mr Rabbani felicitated the party workers and the entire nation over the passage of the 18th Amendment bill.
“The 1973's constitution has been restored to its true form according to the wishes of Ms Benazir Bhutto and Z.A. Bhutto and the name of dictator Gen Zia who defaced the constitution has been eliminated and likewise Gen Pervez Musharraf's LFO and the 17th Amendment have also been done away with,” Mr Rabbani said.
He said that the promises made by Z.A. Bhutto and Ms Benazir Bhutto to the people about the provincial autonomy had also been fulfilled.
He said that after 37 years such a huge national consensus had been evolved as all parties joined their hands together in the adoption of the bill.
In the National Assembly 292 votes were cast in favour of the amendment while not a single vote was cast against it, he said.
Similarly, in the Senate over 90 votes were cast in favour of the amendment while no one cast any vote against it, he added.Federal Labour Minister Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah and Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar said that “We have taken revenge from both dictators Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf who were responsible for the murder of our leaders”.
