LAHORE, Aug 1: Federal Law Minister Dr Khalid Ranjha has said the government would make only a few amendments to the Constitution to bring it as close to the original version as possible, restoring the checks and balances which had been removed by various governments since then.

Talking to Dawn, he said the amendments would be made in the light of public opinion and suggestions received after the proposed amendments package was made public. The elected parliament, he assured, would be empowered to examine the amendments and decide which one to approve or reject. “Any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded.”

The minister rejected the opposition’s assertion that the proposed amendments were so drastic in nature that they would alter the basic structure of the constitution or amount to re-writing it.

Dr Ranjha said there was no constitution in operation at present. In the absence of a mechanism it would not be possible for the present rulers to put in place an elected parliament and a democratic setup.

He said the amendments proposed in the package would be enforced through a PCO as no other method was available.

Debate on the package concluded on Wednesday. The government would now decide whether to withdraw or amend any part of it. Press reports suggest that almost all major political parties have rejected the package as well as the Political Parties Order.

The law minister said the amendments provided in it were for effecting the “transition” and to obviate the possibility of inviting civilian martial law administrators.

He said the formation of a National Security Council was imperative to reassure the world that while a parliament could be dissolved, a responsible organization would always be in place to take care of matters in a nuclear Pakistan. The composition and the functions of the NSC, he said, could be changed in the light of the public opinion, he said.

Dr Ranjha did not agree with the suggestion that all political parties had rejected the package or the PPO.

He said it would be wrong for any party to claim credit for the restoration of democracy in the country. It was the Supreme Court which, he pointed out, had set a date for returning the country to a democratic dispensation.

The law minister also rejected opposition of the PPO, saying it was a recomposition of the Political Parties Act, 1962, as interpreted by the Supreme Court on various occasions.

When it was pointed out that the Pakistan People’s Party had re-elected Benazir Bhutto as its chairperson despite his earlier assertion that being a convict she could not head a party or contest election, Dr Ranjha said any party defying the provisions of the PPO would not be eligible for an election symbol. However, its members could not be stopped from contesting the election in their individual capacity.

Asked whether the PPP had violated the PPO provisions, the minister said it was for the Election Commission to give a ruling on the subject.