Dictators spurred clash among democratic institutions: Rabbani

PESHAWAR: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Sunday said that democratic institutions were pitted against one another during times of dictatorships. He said the institutions might be at stake if state institutions didn’t recognise the constitutional power of each democratic institution.
He was addressing the Mufti Mehmood Conference organised by the Peshawar district chapter of the JUI-F in Peshawar’s Hayatabad town. Rabbani said, “We have taken the lead by inviting the Chief Justice of Pakistan to the upper house of parliament to promote harmony among state institutions.” He added that in the past the dictatorial forces created mistrust and conflict among state organisations and political parties.
He urged the religio-political parties to play their due role in eliminating sectarian violence, religious extremism and militancy from the country.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said here on Sunday that the tribal people should be taken into confidence before making any decision about the future of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Without clarifying his party’s stance on the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, he said the government should first send back the displaced families to their homes in the tribal areas before taking any decision about the future of Fata.
Rehman said if the ‘establishment’ had decided to change the present status of the tribal areas then it should not create differences among the tribespeople.
“We know some forces are once again playing with the sentiments of the tribesmen in the name of changing the status of Fata,” he said, adding that the JUI-F would not accept any decision made behind closed doors.
“This (future of Fata) is a serious issue and it should be dealt with seriously,” the JUI-F leader stressed. He also endorsed the idea of Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani to initiate the doctrine of inter-institutional dialogue.
Aftab Sherpao said that like late Mufti Mehmood the present leadership of JUI-F and other religious scholars should utilise their energies for a peaceful, stable and democratic Pakistan.
Paying rich tributes to the late JUI head Mufti Mehmood, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said that the Maulana had set examples of honesty and simplicity as the chief executive of the province. “He played a dynamic role in framing the 1973 Constitution,” the senior ANP leader said.
He asked the JUI-F leadership to clarify its stand on the future of the tribal areas and support the proposed bill in the Parliament about the merger of Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
JI leader Liaqat Baloch said the religio-political parties would not let anyone to impose the Western agenda in Pakistan or turn the country into a secular state.
“Maulana Fazl Rehman should take the lead in uniting the religious forces on one platform to fight the agenda of foreign elements,” he stressed.
Pir Sabir Shah of PML-N also paid glowing tributes to Mufti Mehmood and asked the politicians and parliamentarians to follow the examples he had set in honesty, fairness and simplicity while in power.
“Mufti Mehmood had brought about real changes in governance and administration when he was the chief minister of the province,” he recalled.