Saturday, April 12, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 5,1429    

A constitutional package that satisfies all

Comment

Dr Jassim Taqui
Deputy Editor (IR)

The coalition government has agreed on a constitutional package (CP), which would satisfy all, disclosed a reliable source who is very close to PPP. According to the CP, the tenure of the Chief Justice would be reduced to three years.

This means the Chief Justice Mr. Iftikhar Mohammad Chauhdry would be reinstated with full honour but would simultaneously retire since he spent more than three years as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The CP would ensure the complete independence of judiciary as per the articles of the Charter of Democracy signed by PPP and PML(N) in May 2006 at London.

Another article in the CP pertains to the supremacy of the parliament. This would be done by cancelling article 58(2) b in the constitution.

The CP would endorse National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which was promulgated on the eve of the presidential poll. NRO grants an amnesty to all those allegedly involved in the misuse of power and other transgression between 1986 and 1999.

It means that the CP would confirm President Pervez Musharraf since the NRO was promulgated to pave the way to a power-sharing deal between the PPP and President Musharraf.

So far all cases against lawmakers from all political parties including PPP and PML(N) registered between January 1, 1986 and October 12, 1999 in which no conviction has been made have been dropped by the courts. Consequently, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, Mr. Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Shahbaz Sharif are cleared. All the three leaders have stated that they would contest by-election. This posture is an implicit acceptance of the NRO and the legitimacy of the Presidential elections.

We have seen that all cases instituted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inside or outside Pakistan during 1986-1999 period have been withdrawn.

According to NRO, the powers of NAB have been severely clipped. The government has also stated that special committees on ethics to be set up in the National and provincial assemblies to clear any move by police to arrest lawmakers.

The MQM, a powerful ally of the President Musharraf, also stands to benefit from NRO. Thousands of its workers are charged with serious offences during the period also stand to be cleared.

President Musharraf also gains indirectly because NRO wins him new supporters and rewards existing allies, thereby making his future prospects more secure.