‘Article 6 PPP’s arrow that defends Constitution’

Sindh Assembly passes resolution for commemorating the passage of the 1973 Constitution

Karachi

The chief minister said on Monday that preventing attempts to deface the country’s Constitution was its Article 6, which was the Pakistan People’s Party’s “arrow” against such moves.

Speaking during the proceedings of the provincial assembly before the passage of a resolution for commemorating April 12 as a day of national pride in view of the Constitution being given presidential assent on this date in 1973, Qaim Ali Shah said Senate chairman Raza Rabbani had earlier stated out of anger and frustration that Article-6 should be deleted; when in fact it was a defence mechanism put in place by the PPP to safeguard the Constitution.

The country will commemorate on Tuesday (today) the 43rd anniversary of the passage of Constitution of 1973. The resolution, which was unanimously adopted, also paid tribute to former prime minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the parliamentarians of that time for providing the nation with a constitution that was unanimously passed.

According to Article 6, anyone who tries to subvert the Constitution would be held guilty of high treason.

Shah said it was the political strategy adopted by PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari after the party had come into power in 2008 that led to the expulsion of the then president Pervez Musharraf from the presidency.

“In 2008, the PPP faced criticism as our ministers took oath from a military dictator. But it was Asif Ali Zardari’s strategy that led to the expulsion of Musharraf from power,” he added.

“At that time, Zardari had said that Musharraf won’t stay in power for more than six months once the democratically elected government and the assemblies came into being.”

The chief minister said the concept of provincial autonomy had been enshrined in the Constitution of 1973 but it was further extended by Zardari through adoption of the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. 

He said the Constitution of 1973 had guaranteed the fundamental rights of citizens as people were entitled to equal opportunities in life including availing education and employment irrespective of any social difference between any rich and poor.

He praised the political vision and philosophy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for fully involving the opposition of that time in the process of drafting and the passage if the Constitution.

The chief minister said he was part of both an initial 29-member committee and then a nine-member committee, which were formed for authoring the Constitution of 1973 and he knew well that Bhutto had a clear majority in the 135-member National Assembly that was required for passing the Constitution but the former prime minister had decided to take the opposition on board. 

He said before the authoring and adoption of the Constitution, Bhutto had the backing to extend the civilian marital-law rule of that time but he had decided in 1972 to adopt and implement an interim constitution for a speedy transition from a dictatorial regime to constitutional and democratic rule in the country.

He said that affairs of the country were run in accordance with the Constitution as all institutions of the State including the judiciary functioned under it.  

Earlier while speaking on the resolution, the PPP lawmakers highlighted the services and struggle of their party leaders and activists in adopting the Constitution and then upholding constitutional rule in the country in the face of dictatorial and unconstitutional regimes.

Opposition lawmakers, while speaking on the resolution, took the opportunity to hit out at the PPP’s Sindh government for its poor performance.

They said those in power in the province had completely forgotten the guiding principles and objectives of the leaders of their own party which had led to unanimous passage of the Constitution in 1973.

The opposition legislators said that those at helm of affairs in the province were trying to achieve their own vested interests instead of serving the masses as was enshrined in the Constitution.

Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nusrat Seher Abbasi said that corruption had become so rampant during the PPP’s regime in the province that even its ministers had escaped from the country to evade corruption probe against them.

She added that the PPP was not following the spirit and binding guidelines of the very Constitution authored and adopted by its own leaders.

Sheharyar Khan Mahar of the PML-F said that PPP’s provincial government had in fact imposed a dictatorial regime in the province under the garb of democratic rule under which there was no safeguarding of public interests – an example of which was that the wheat growers of the province were forced to adopt unauthorised means to sell their yield. 

Mahar said the Constitution of 1973 had ensured complete freedom of expression in the society but there was no implementation of that in Sindh.

“The situation in Sindh has worsened to the extent that government is in no mood to have the passed the proposed right to information bill by the provincial assembly despite the fact the draft of the law was prepared several months ago,” he added.

Parliamentary affairs minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said before the passage of 1973 Constitution, the country was run without any social contract. The resolution to praise the ‘Constitution Day” was moved by Khuhro and environment minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro. 

It read:, “The Assembly resolves to commemorate the glorious day of National Pride - the 12th April 1973 when the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan was assented to by President of Pakistan. This House pays tribute to Late Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and other parliamentarians of that time for giving the nation a Constitution unanimously passed in the history of Pakistan.

The Assembly recommends that the Building of this August House-The  Provincial Assembly of Sindh be illuminated on 11th and 12th of April 2016 to sensitise the public to this auspicious occasion in a befitting manner.”

 

Call-attention notices

Earlier responding to a call-attention notice of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Dr Seema Zia, Khuhro conceded that a certain number of vehicles from the official pool of the provincial government were missing. He added that efforts were being made to ascertain their whereabouts. 

The minister said 66 official vehicles of the provincial government were missing of which 35 had been traced while efforts were being made to find the others. He said 82 vehicles had been taken back from officials who were keeping them without any authorisation.

Responding to another call-attention notice, local government minister Jam Khan Shoro said action had been taken against water theft in Karachi. He added that there were 24 water supply hydrants in the city when he had assumed charge of his office and the number had now reduced to 11.