Minister supports ‘Islamic presidential’ system: ‘Country never had presidential system in true sense’

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Saturday, while speaking about the “Islamic” Presidential System in detail, said the country has never experienced the presidential system in true sense and spirit.

In an interview, he said the presidential system is being discussed at the social media alone but it has not come up for a discussion at the cabinet or government level so far.

The PTI minister said Pakistan had never experienced the Islamic Presidential System. Both the parliamentary and presidential systems have their own merits and demerits but the government has not taken any decision for holding a referendum for the Islamic Presidential System. It is the people who will decide about the system, he added.

Comparing Parliamentary and presidential systems, the PTI minister said in the parliamentary system, a party forming the government had secured lesser votes than the aggregate votes of candidates of other parties; however, in the Islamic Presidential System, every vote that has been cast, would carry its significance.

He further said that if the Islamic Presidential System gets its way in Pakistan, it would be through polls in a democratic manner as Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf were not elected through the democratic process.

The discussion about the presidential system has continued to dominate the social media, while no political party has supported the highly controversial idea as the constitutional experts are of the view that any scheme that could damage Constitution’s Parliamentary and Islamic character would demolish the very basis of it.