ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: A minority member of the ruling coalition created quite a furore in the National Assembly on Tuesday, prompting both the government and opposition lawmakers to defend the inclusion of ‘ideology of Pakistan’ in the constitution and reject a bill seeking its removal from articles 62(G) and 63(H).
In a lack-lustre session, ministers and treasury members took little interest in the private members’ day proceedings.
The opposition pointed to lack of quorum when Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain did not allow one of their colleagues to speak and adjourned the house instead of calling for a count.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) challenged the abrupt adjournment without ringing the bells and waiting for the completion of the quorum.
Insiders attributed the lack of interest to a compromise between the government and the MMA on the women’s rights bill reached outside parliament.
Earlier, countering arguments from the treasury and opposition benches, M.P. Bhandara insisted that either the house should hold a debate on the question of ideology of Pakistan to justify its inclusion in the constitution or delete it. The speaker put the bill to house and it was rejected by a majority vote.
Abdul Mujib Pirzada of the PPP Parliamentarians said that although the constitution did not provide much explanation about the word ideology, the issue had been discussed in the Supreme Court and had been settled.
He said the 1940 Lahore Resolution provided the basis for the ideology of Pakistan which had been incorporated in the constitution in the shape of the Objectives Resolution.
He said the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Mahmud Achakzai case had held that the state was governed by the constitution on the basis of parliamentary democracy and was Islamic in character.
Opposing the bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan said the ideology of Pakistan was a settled issue as the country’s existence was based on it.
He said that Pakistan was created as a Muslim state and all its high functionaries, like president, prime minister, ministers and legislators, took the oath of defending the ideology and integrity of Pakistan.
He declared that parliament was not sovereign as it was bound by the principle that it cannot frame or support a law repugnant to Islamic teachings and injunctions of Holy Quran.
Liaquat Baloch of MMA said the minority lawmaker in fact wanted to change articles 62 and 63 pertaining to the qualification of a candidate seeking election to a parliamentary seat but added that several articles, including article 2, 30 and 31, protected them.
Several opposition members, who had moved legislative business for the day, did not turn up.
Rubina Shaheen Wattoo of the Pakistan Muslim League moved two private bills and both were allowed to be referred to the concerned house committees.
The bills seek amendments to the Pakistan Baitul Mal Act, 1992, and the Code of Civil Procedure Act, 1908.
The house also debated precincts of provincial autonomy in the light of the sense of deprivation prevailing in smaller provinces.
Inter-provincial Coordination Minister Salim Saifullah Khan said the government was in the process of moving a consensus bill on expansion of the scope of provincial autonomy in accordance with recommendations of the Wasim Sajjad sub-parliamentary committee.
The house also discussed the issue of 126 multi-storey buildings and hotels in Murree out of the 600 considered to be a threat to the tourism industry.
Moving a call-attention notice, PPP Parliamentarians’ Raja Parvaiz Ashraf, Ghulam Murtaza Satti, Naheed Khan, Mehreen Anwar Raja and Fauzia Habib said the collapse of a hotel in Murree had severely affected the future of tourism in the most beautiful summer resort in the country.
The government said allowing construction and passing maps was the jurisdiction of the provincial government.
The speaker directed the government to ensure that no illegal construction was allowed and said officials should be reminded that they were not bound by any illegal order if passed by any government department.