PPP felicitates nation on Constitution Day

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) felicitated the nation on Constitution Day on Sunday and reiterated the importance of protecting the Constitution.

In a statement, Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said that PPP founder and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave a Constitution to the country on this day in 1973, guaranteeing the integrity and survival of the federation.

He pointed out that Bhutto’s daughter, Benazir Bhutto, fought all her life for the restoration of the Constitution, and endured imprisonment and hardships for its cause.

He also highlighted how journalists fought hard for the freedom of expression and the freedom of media, as well as the restoration of the Constitution.

The former president paid tribute to those who accepted executions, floggings and imprisonment for protecting the Constitution. He said that the 18th Amendment is a charter between the federation and the units, and the rule of the Constitution would strengthen the security of the country and the credibility of the institutions.

Separately, Rabbani, in his statement, said that on Constitution Day, the nation reaffirms its faith in democracy, parliamentary system, federalism, particularly in the immediate aftermath of recent events.

Terming the April 7 short order of the Supreme Court (SC) as “historic”, he pointed out that if allowed, the mechanism within the Constitution can save it and prevent the democratic parliamentary system from being held in abeyance.

He said that the court’s order and the steps for its implementation sent a strong message to “anarchists and constitutional deviationists” that if not abrogated, the Constitution can protect the democratic federal system.

He made it clear that he stands by his position on Article 69 of the Constitution which he maintained before the SC. However, he added, on April 3, constitutional functionaries blocked the process of the Constitution to perpetuate themselves in power. He further said that constitutional machinery was circumvented and parliament made hostage to the will of a minority political party.

The PPP leader said that in such circumstances, the internal checks and balances provided within the Constitution came into play and the Constitution itself was allowed to breathe.

He said that the principles of trichotomy of power and supremacy of parliament were preserved by the short order, which was issued in extraordinary circumstances.