Rabbani fears new govt may change 18th amendment

Former Senate chairman Main Raza Rabbani on Friday feared that the new parliament may bring changes in the 18th amendment of the constitution, particularly the financial autonomy of the provinces, as the federation does not want to give all financial resources under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

He was speaking at a meeting of a Joint Action Committee (JAC) of civil society organisations here. The meeting was convened to discuss the post-election situation. Political leaders, workers and election observers attended the meeting in a large number.

Using the pretext of the financial crisis, the state may tell the provinces that it was not possible to give them their NFC Award shares, he said, adding that the actual war was to stop the devolution of resources from the federation and the provinces.

Senator Rabbani admitted that major political parties were also facing corporate priorities. He said parliament had been undermined even during the previous government. He underlined the need to form a broad-based alliance of all pro-people political parties, civil society, intellectuals, writers, rights activists and individual political workers to wage a movement for the rights of the people.

Senator Rabbani expressed his concern over the free participation of banned outfits in the general elections, saying that over 250 candidates of the banned and prescribed outfits were allowed to contest the elections.

Candidates of the mainstream political parties faced hurdles in contesting the elections, but the Election Commission did not raise any question on the election contest of the banned outfits.

He said that except for one party all major political parties were not provided with a level playing field during the election campaigns. He also raised questions about the delaying tactics adopted by the polling staff during the elections.

The administration was used to limit the election campaigns of major political parties, and many political parties were barred from even holding rallies on the pretext of security threats, he said, adding that only one party was free to hold gathering and rallies.

“The actual game happened after the poling as the polling agents were asked to leave the polling stations after the end of polling time,” he said, adding that the concept of fair and free elections was violated when the poling agents were not present during the counting process.

The PPP senator said a farce was crated and the election commission told the nation that an electronic system would be used for rapid announcement of the results. “But after the unusual delay in the announcement of the results, they told us the system had actually failed. This is a waste of the national exchequer and the Election Commission should face investigations by NAB.”

A senior journalist and representative of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), Imtiaz Alam, also supported the idea of the formation of wider platform of progressive elements. A candidate of Aam Log Ettehad, Wali Mohammad Naushad, narrated the problems he faced on the polling day. He said that polling arrangements were very poor and the Election Commission did not pay any attention to complaints from the candidates and parties.

A number of election observers narrated the situation during the polling day and said that in Karachi the polling results were deliberately delayed despite the fact the constituencies were very close.

Karamat Ali, director, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Ayoub Qureshi of the National Party, Abdul Khaliq Junejo of the Jeay Sindh Mahaz, Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Amanullah Shaikh of the Awami Jamhoori Party, Mahnaz Rahman of Aurat Foundation, Seema Maheahwari from the HRCP, Malika Khan, Naghma Shaikh, Abida Ali, Farhat Parween, Abubakar Yousufzai, Hareef Chandio, Azhar Jameel and others also spoke on the occasion.

At the end a committee was formed to prepare a set of recommendations for the formation of a wider platform of the civil society organisations.