President of Pakistan signs historic bill of 18th ammendment

BY KASWAR KLASRA

ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has signed historic 18th Amendment Bill on Monday in the presence of parliamentarians and heads of political parties including former two-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Interestingly, it was the first time in the history of pakistan that a sitting President of country has signed a bill cutting his own powers. Before this, every head of state has been empowering his powers by approving a dozen of amendments.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Senate and National assembly of Islamic Republic of Pakistan have already approved the 18th Amendment Bill, deleting former military dictator Ziaul Haq’s name from the constitution, annulling Article 58(2b) of the constitution and renaming NWFP as “Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa”.

From political cosmetics to fundamental righting of wrongs, the amendments had it all, including the removal of dictator General Ziaul Haq’s name from the Constitution, declaring General Musharraf’s coup of October 12, 1999 as illegal and unlawful, nullifying the Legal Framework Order 2002. In all, the amendment has amended 102 clauses.

The 18th Amendment Bill was approved by 292 votes in favour through division of the House in National Assembly while in the Senate it secured 92 votes in its favor.
A joyous parliament had received the much-awaited proposals for the landmark constitutional reforms last Friday that restored its lost power and a genuine parliamentary system after its repeated mutilation by military dictators.

18th amendment bill has an astounding response, both by the politicians and the common people. The people all over the world saw the propagation of the philosophy and thought of charismatic leader Benazir Bhutto and the strict adherence to the politics of reconciliation. The opposition leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan said that the Peoples party has carried forward the thought process of Zulfiqar Ai Bhutto who gave Pakistan a unanimous constitution. He says that now he is proud of Pakistani politicians He praised the PPP co chairman Asif Ali Zardari for his sincere efforts.

On the afternoon of 5th April President Asif Ali Zardari addressed the joint session of the Parliament and he expressed jubilation over the fact that after a long struggle the government and all the political parties are now able to restore the constitution of 1973. Out of the 272 Articles of the constitution, 102 have been amended by the Constitutional Reforms Committee under Senator Raza Rabbani. The salient features are described as under,

The name of General Zia ul Haque as a part of the Constitution is removed. NWFP province has been renamed. Musharraf’s 17th Amendment and the Legal Framework Order are also repealed. The ban on a third time Prime Minister’s and Chief Minister’s has been lifted. If some ruler will hold constitution in abeyance then this is tantamount to high treason. The Council of Common Interests has been reconstituted with the PM as its chairman. The condition is imposed upon it that it must meet at least once in 90 days. A judicial commission will be set up. It will recommend the appointment procedure of superior judges. A parliamentary commission will finalise the names of judges. Also the appointment of chief election commissioner will be done by the consensus between the treasury and the opposition. Islamabad High Court and the benches of the Peshawar High Court in Mingora and the Baluchistan High court in Turbat have been proposed. After the abolition of the concurrent list the provinces will now have joint control regarding their natural resources with the federal government.

All the aberrations in the constitution of 1973 are now done away with. Also it is evident that the labours of the Constitutional Reforms Committee are wide-ranging and thorough. The aspirations of the federating units are obliged. This Bill will now go to the Senate for ratification after passing through the Upper House by a two-thirds majority votes will become a part of the amended constitution. It can be hoped that this Bill will sail through Senate without any hindrance. It will act as a purifier and clean all the distortions introduced by the military dictators. The basic law will be in conformity to the parliamentary norms. Now no dictator will occupy the throne by force. Of course this all is due to the renunciation on the part of the President. Gratitude is also due to all the other members of the Constitutional Reforms Committee. It all has affirmed that the road to evolution of democracy is long but at least not out of each. The elected representatives supported the democratic tenet and came up with the approved constitution.

The fact remains that the 18th Amendment now should be implemented in real sense, only then it can bring good changes. It can also be suggested that it would have been better if the Islamic clauses inappropriately inserted by General Zia in the Constitution were touched upon. Also some experts are of the view that as we see that Fata has become the breeding ground of unrest, there was a need to go through its colonial status. There is a serious security problem over there. It also poses threats to internal security. Therefore some necessary changes must be brought.

It would be better if the Constitutional Reforms Committee headed by Raza Rabbani is asked to continue its work. On the whole the 18th Amendment has revealed the forward looking approach of the government. It is indeed a historical achievement. It is the need of the time that the committee must work together. They have given us a real essence of democracy. No dictator will be allowed to trample over the constitution and no unconstitutional force will exercise a threat to it. Definitely the CRC needs a standing ovation for accomplishing this historical success. The constitution is no more mutilated. Its original spirit is restored. Both the government and the parliament ought to be commended. The credit should be given for its willful resolve to muster up the consensus. In this way the institutions will also be enthused with a democratic spirit. The nature of conspiracies the President was surrounded in, he needed the powers to oust them, but he deliberately surrendered many of the authorities. He instead preferred the interest of nation, country and democracy. This seems to be unparalleled. The whole nation looks at this attitude with acclaim. It has proved that the government believes in the supremacy of the constitution and judges every one by the same yard stick.