QUETTA: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has said that overstepping by state institutions while exercising their authority and interference in each other’s work defaced the 1973 Constitution.
Addressing a seminar organised by Shaheed Baz Muhammad Kakar Foundation on Wednesday, he invited all institutions to become part of intra-institutional talks in the country, which would be organised by Senate so that powers of institutions are decided.
The Senate chairman said that under the constitution, the state’s foremost responsibility was security of life and property of the people, but government institutions instead of providing security to their people had accorded priority to security to foreigners reaching Pakistan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and constituted a separate security division. “They failed to provide security to their own people.”
He said that the executive attacks parliament and interfere in the working of the judiciary, while judiciary tries to overcome parliament and the executive. “All these measures have made parliament an extremely weak body.”
He said the constitution says the government would be run by the people’s representatives, but parliament is abolished through martial law or sometime a dictator dismisses democracy through Article 58 2(b). “Now we have adopted a new process under which elected governments are sent home.”
The Senate chairman said he “does not want confrontation among institutions” but believes that the judiciary, executives and parliament should work within their orbit.
He, therefore, invites the judiciary, executive, parliament and the establishment on behalf of the Senate of Pakistan to hold talks on distribution of power among institutions of Pakistan and ascertaining their limits.
Leader of Opposition in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan in his address said that Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were confronted with terrorism. “The federal government should take measures for development of these two provinces, accord their rights under the constitution and solve their problems.”
Provincial Minister Nawab Muhammad Khan Shahwani, opposition leader in Balochistan Assembly Maulana Abdul Wasay, leaders of ANP, JUI-N and Hazara Democratic Party and representatives of high court bar association and Balochistan Bar Council also spoke on the occasion.
It is to recall that on August 8, 2016, then Balochistan Bar Association president Bilal Kasi was shot dead. When his body was shifted to civil hospital, a large number of lawyers reached the hospital and a suicide bomber blew himself up. More than 70 people, including over 50 lawyers, were martyred.
Published in Daily Times, August 3nd 2017.
