Supremacy of Constitution

LAHORE: While we celebrated the 144^th birth anniversary of our Founding Father, our heads should hang in shame for betraying the Quaid-e-Azam’s vision, which emphasised those foundations of modern democratic welfare rests on the constitution.

In Jinnah’s opinion, the constitution is a living document, which lays down a framework and schedule of powers that three organs of state, namely parliament, the executive and the judiciary enjoy. The three organs derive their power from the constitution. Any suspension of the constitution weakens the state’s foundations, just like an earthquake and repetitive jolts would result in disintegration.

Pakistan has suffered enough from supra constitutional interventions. Its sovereignty was compromised by myopic mindset of those who lacked vision and capacity. We offered our territory to hostile armed militias to fight proxy wars, only to be abandoned after foreign powers achieved their objectives. Pakistan got embroiled in fighting the threat of terrorism and extremism. Nobody should be allowed to tamper with the constitution, fate and destiny of its people. Individual ambitions and agendas of foreign powers should never be allowed to put lives and property of citizens or the collective will of people at stake.

The sole purpose which motivated the Quaid to lead the struggle for Pakistan was the creation of a modern democratic welfare state with self-rule through chosen representatives of the people, who alone should be masters of their destiny. It is the subversion of Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan if any individual suspends the constitution and power is derived through the barrel of a gun instead of the ballot. Obedience to laws and the constitution is mandatory and anybody who dares to violate it deserves to be punished.

Ali Malik

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2020.

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