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WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
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| 17th Amendment |
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
I watched with great interest on Geo (November 17) Mian Nawaz Sharif's interview. I also read parts of the same interview in your paper (November 18 and 19). Without doubt, Mr Sharif exuded a lot of confidence in talking to the interviewers and in taking the positions that he took in defence of democracy as well as on other national issues. It was also encouraging to know that he had never taken up the issue of third-time premiership with the president. Instead, his major thrust in his meetings with the PPP top leadership had been that the 17th Amendment must be removed which had created a wedge between the two major political parties. He was so right in saying that in acting on the 17th Amendment time was of the essence for saving democracy. Most people would endorse his position on this.
In dealing with the 17th Amendment the PPP instead of adopting a phased approach had got bogged down with a comprehensive constitutional review. This total review of the constitution perhaps is imperative but it is also time-consuming and given the snail's pace at which the parliamentary committee is proceeding in the matter, it might exhaust the patience of all and sundry. This inordinate delay, in my judgment, is not in the interest of democracy nor is it in the interest of the PPP government. Therefore, it might be wiser to enforce constitutional amendments in phases, otherwise, it will take forever.
The PPP co-chairperson, who also occupies the presidency, continues to give the news from time to time that he is willing to cede powers to the chief executive, read the prime minister. But what is stopping the president from coming out with the necessary legislation to prove his intent through his action is incomprehensible. The PPP, unfortunately, on the 17th Amendment had been short on action and rather loud in promises.
Mr Sharif stated in the interview that he was opposed to mid-term elections and one can appreciate his desire to allow the present setup to complete its tenure. Yet, one would like to argue that if the mid-term elections will reduce the present cleavages and solidify our nation, why not favour the same? By demanding mid-term elections and keeping the option for extension in service of the COAS open, Mr Sharif will not become a rival of the president.
Dr Zafar Qureshi
FCC University, Lahore
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Press reports say that our president will surrender his additional powers by reversing the 17th Amendment. Even our prime minister has declared that the president is ready to do that. However, I think that Mr Zardari is never going to surrender these powers, and the basic reason behind that is that the largest opposition party is spineless and refrains from criticising the president.
Muhammad Ziauddin
Rawalpindi
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