ISLAMABAD: An All Parties Conference (APC) hosted by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) turned out to be a non-starter, a huge dud as it failed to achieve anything mentionable except the voicing of the already known stand of its sponsor on the question of renewal of powers of the military courts to try all kinds of terrorists.
The inconsequentiality of the daylong deliberations became pronounced by the dismal fact that at the end of the discussions not even an innocuous joint communiqué was issued. This offered beyond doubt that the participants did not buy the PPP’s standpoint or agree on any single point.
Only the PPP, the largest opposition party in the National Assembly, can explain what it accomplished by holding the APC. Its fundamental objective was to get relevance in the political arena but it too was not available. The outcome of the APC will hardly produce any pressure on the federal government to pay heed to the PPP’s different demands.
Despite having been invited, two major political parties -- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Pakistan -- stayed away from the APC as per their own decisions. The PPP expressed its ire in its own way over the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) by not even inviting it.
Some of the political parties, which attended the APC, have already supported during talks with chief government negotiator Finance Minister Ishaq Dar the extension of military courts’ authority.
Among the attendees, PML-N’s allies -- the National Party (NP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) -- had hammered out an agreement like the PTI with the government on the draft constitutional amendment.
The Jamaat-e-Islami and Sheikh Rashid, chief of Awami Muslim League (AML), also present in the APC, too had agreed to this draft. The PML-Q, which was part of the APC, is unlikely to oppose the military courts’ powers renewal.
The remaining miniature political parties, which participated in the APC, either have no representation whatsoever in the parliament or have a minor say in it. In this sense, their support to the PPP or lack of it doesn’t matter.
The numerical parliamentary strength of the parties which showed up in the APC is hardly impressive to block the passage of the constitutional amendment if the Senate and National Assembly hold a joint sitting for its consideration.
After the commanding PML-N tally in the National Assembly, the PPP, PTI and MQM have good support in this chamber. The PPP dominates the Senate, leaving the PML-N far behind, where it can block the constitutional amendment. However, it will be a different story if the two Houses hold a jointing sitting because the PML-N and its allies are able to clinch a majority in such a session.
A federal minister told The News on condition of anonymity that although the government prepared the draft amendment in consultations with the parliamentary parties, it will not push it through the parliament without working out a complete consensus with all players including the PPP.
He expressed the hope that an accord would be reached during talks on the amendment after its tabling in the National Assembly this week. He said the government was open to incorporate useful proposals of the PPP and other dissenters in it.
The minister said that like before this amendment will also be passed with consensus so that every parliamentary party was on board on such a sweeping change. The PPP sponsored APC had become a futile exercise when Senator Ishaq Dar had arrived at an accord with the principal parliamentary parties including the PTI. However, despite having become irrelevant due to the reduced political weightage of the conference, the PPP went ahead with its holding.
What PPP Chairman Bilawal stated clearly indicated that his party has no plan to support the renewal of authority of the military courts any soon. He apparently wants to drag the issue.
The PPP tasked its former Law Minister legal wizard Farooq H Naek to urgently finalise draft legislation for military courts in case their setting up was deemed inevitable by all political parties. It said in case of inevitability of the military courts, it will formulate legislative proposal to ensure human rights and a fair trial of the accused on the one hand and to prevent their misuse for political victimization. It asked Khursheed Shah and Aitzaz Ahsan to share the draft legislative proposal with other political parties.
It is indicated from the PPP’s plan that it wants to hold talks with the government basing such negotiations on the drafts prepared by it and the one that was agreed by the political parties with Ishaq Dar. This will happen only after the two proposals will be moved in the parliament.
The previous unique powers of the military courts, which were provided through amendments in the Constitution and the Pakistan Army Act ended on January 7. The official draft proposes that the two-year extension of this authority will be effective from this date.
