MULTAN, April 17: Any attempt to amend the constitution will deface its federal parliamentary character which can prove disastrous for the integrity of the country.
It was almost the unanimous utterance of speakers at a seminar organized here on Tuesday by a national urdu daily.
Speakers included Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Sahibzada Farooq Ali Khan, Syed Fakhr Imam, Hafiz Husain Ahmad, Liaquat Baloch, Saeed Ahmad Manais, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jamal Leghari and Hamid Saeed Kazmi.
Nawabzada Nasrullah said hate for the constitution, lust to concentrate powers in themselves, anti-politicians campaign and fear of people’s will were the common characteristics found in dictators, and Gen Musharraf was no exception. He said military adventurers had always blocked the democratic process.
He said no one even the Supreme Court had a right to amend the constitution as the apex court was supposed to interpret it. He said only parliament could bring changes in the law of the land.
He questioned under which moral authority the chief election commissioner would hold the referendum which was violative of the judgment he passed as chief justice while giving validation to the Oct 12 coup for a period of three years and bounding the regime leaders to hold general elections within the stipulated period.
He said if the constitution existed, Gen Musharraf could not be the president. He urged the general to put off his uniform and, according to the rules, wait for two years to jump into the political arena.
The Nawabzada said all the political forces such as the ARD, the MMA, the PONM and the lawyers community were opposing the referendum. He said by drawing a so-called line between his supporters and opponents, the general was dividing the people.
Sahibzada Farooq Ali Khan, a former speaker of the National Assembly, said the military had no role to play in politics and government affairs.
Another former speaker, Fakhr Imam, said the relation between the people and politicians could not be built due to the autocratic civilian rules in the country. There should also be a democracy in the parties so that incompetent leadership could be replaced.
JUI-F central deputy secretary-general Hafiz Husain Ahmad said had the PPP supported Nawabzada Nasrullah in 1988 for the presidentship, the political situation had been totally different.
Jamaat-i-Islami naib amir Liaquat Baloch said: “Any vexing with the constitution to bring the presidential system will prove injurious to the federation.”
He suggested three steps to save the parliamentary system in the country — restoration of the constitution of 1973, independent election commission and freedom of expression. He urged the Nawabzada to convene an all-party conference to oppose the presidential referendum.
Multan district Nazim Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he would resign whenever Nawabzada Nasrullah or Benazir Bhutto asked him. He urged the rulers if they wanted to change the system, they would have to change the mindsets in officialdom.
Dera Ghazi Khan district Nazim Jamal Leghari had to face strong opposition when he opted to support Gen Musharraf.