POINTING out that the Caretaker set up was unnecessary; Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has proposed to dispense with the arrangement by amending the Constitution. Speaking at the launching ceremony of the anti-polio campaign, he argued that the interim governments offered no benefit and therefore, the relevant provisions of the law should be repealed.
As the Chief Minister also referred to the difficulties caused by the last caretaker government in the procurement of vaccines for diphtheria and other diseases, it was not clear whether he made off the cuff remarks or this was his well considered opinion. However, there are legitimate reasons for giving a serious thought to his suggestion in view of what people of Pakistan have been witnessing during the last many years. Though the concept of interim government was not there in the original 1973 Constitution and was introduced in 1985 by the then President late General Ziaul Haq. It was supposed to be a temporary administration formed to ensure a smooth transition of power from one elected government to another. The main purpose was to oversee the conduct of free and fair elections, maintain law and order and provide continuity of governance during this period. The idea was welcomed in the backdrop of consistent complaints that the governments in power influence and manipulate the electoral process and its outcome. However, it is also a reality that such complaints persist despite introduction of the idea of interim set-ups as neither appointment of such governments was strictly on merit nor any of them succeeded in giving controversy-free elections to the country. It is also a fact that in most of the countries of the democratic world, elections are held in the presence of the incumbent governments but no controversies crop up mainly because bodies responsible for conducting polls are fully empowered. There have also been demands in Pakistan that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should be given necessary powers to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, obviating the need for caretaker set-ups, which have rightly been described by the Sindh CM as unnecessary. At a time when there are reports about another constitutional amendment, this proposal may also be considered by all parties by incorporating provisions that make the ECP genuinely independent and powerful.
