Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Constitutional public office holders
The 1973 Constitution is based on parliamentary democracy with all executive powers vested in the PM and his cabinet and President of Pakistan is a ceremonial office who as per Article 48 of the Constitution “shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet”.
It further states “Provided that after 15 days, the President may require the Cabinet or as the case may be, the PM to reconsider such advice, either generally or otherwise, and the President shall within 10 days, act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration.” He has the power under Article 45 “to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority”.
Similarly, the Speaker of an Assembly (National or Provincial) once elected, must be seen to act as custodian of the house and not follow his party directives, but follow rules and constitution. The President is expected to be the symbol of federation and rise above his political party affiliations, in discharging his constitutional obligations.
The letter and spirit of the Constitution must be followed and be seen to be upheld by Constitutional Office Holders. I fail to understand that the President having exercised his power to send legislation for reconsideration was bound to (shall) to give his consent.
In a parliamentary democracy the President, Governor or Speakers etc, once they hold the office are expected to discharge duties in an impartial manner irrespective of the policies followed by their parent political party, or their own political opinions and ambitions. Similarly, the Governors must be seen to protect and uphold the Constitution in the discharge of their duties and must ensure that rules are followed for issuance of ordinances.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Regime change conspiracy
THE PTI appears to be clinging on to its narrative of a “regime change conspiracy” even after two months of being voted out of power following the no-confidence vote. Even more concerning is how the political party is willing to malign every institution in the country and sabotage fragile relationships with key partners solely for political mileage.
Earlier this week, the ISPR spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar stated in an interview that the top military leadership and the participants were clearly briefed by the agencies in the National Security Committee meeting that there was no kind of evidence of regime change conspiracy. This reiteration did not go down well with the PTI leadership which in return continued with its accusations of a foreign conspiracy to oust Imran Khan from power.
Recently, Imran Khan chose to cry foul about his ouster from power and berated several institutions of the country for siding against him, including the Election Commission of Pakistan. It is evident that the PTI could care less about how damaging its rhetoric is with regards to sowing divisions within the country and exacerbating the ongoing political crisis. PTI continues to insist that a Judicial Commission should investigate this issue despite the fact that the institutions responsible for investigating these claims have already given their verdict.
Even if a Commission is formed, eventually intelligence reports will be sought from the military to get to the bottom of this, so it is highly unlikely that the Commission will result in any new evidence coming to the fore. The PTI knows this all too well, and is only looking to extract whatever mileage it can derive from this narrative in the run up to the next general election. It is also a fact that the PTI leadership has nothing to present before the public any kind of relief provided during its 4-year rule in the Centre. False allegations and one after another narrative of “Conspiracy” cannot upkeep the downing morale of its workers for a long period.
QAZI JAMSHED SIDDIQUI
Lahore
Water scarcity
Pakistan is facing a water shortage that could be disastrous for its future. A country that started as a water fluent Nation in 1947 is now on the verge of becoming water-stressed. Mainly, due to the explosive growth of the population, Pakistan is facing water scarcity. While Pakistan is the 6th most populous country in the world with a population of 229,669,820, according to the world meter elaboration of the latest United Nations data. More than 80% of the country’s population faces severe water scarcity.
Mostly, Punjab and Sindh are facing water scarcity. Even this can be due to improper management of water and irrigation canals that have leakages which waste most of the water. Due to climate change, poor agriculture sector, water pollution and many other factors Pakistan is a victim of the water crisis. The Government of Pakistan should work on this issue otherwise Pakistan could run dry by in the near future as its water shortage is reaching an alarming level.
ASIF RASHEED
Turbat
