Bilawal vows to fight off threat to Constitution

Zardari says parliament is ‘biggest court of country’ as it belongs to people

ISLAMABAD:

The PPP on Sunday pledged to defeat the mindset that considered the Constitution as “just a piece of paper”, saying the document has been under attack ever since it was framed but the party would not hesitate from rendering any sacrifice necessary to protect it.

Amid the political volatility and a face-off between the government and the judiciary, the PPP leadership has made it clear that parliament was the “biggest court of the country” as it belonged to the people and everyone would have to surrender before its will.

The top PPP leadership said those who treated the document, which guaranteed rights to people as a piece of paper, believed that they were beyond the law and the Constitution was their enemy.

It added that the country was facing several difficulties today as some elements had deviated from the Constitution.

“The PPP stands by the Constitution and the democratic system as always,” party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is also the country’s foreign minister, said in a statement.

He added that his party was determined to finally defeat the mindset that considered the Constitution as “just a piece of paper”.

The PPP chairman’s statement was apparently in response to the remarks of the late former military ruler, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who had once said: “I think the Constitution is just a piece of paper to be thrown in the dustbin.”

Bilawal said the Constitution had been under attack ever since it was framed, saying some elements did not tolerate the fact that the people received their due rights, the provinces owned their resources, and all were equal before the law.

“The approach that considers itself beyond the law considers the 1973 Constitution as its enemy,” the PPP chairman said.

He added that the history of the PPP in terms of framing and safeguarding the Constitution was unparalleled.

Bilawal said his mother, former premier Benazir Bhutto, and father, ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, had restored the 1973 Constitution to its original form by successfully removing the “dictatorial pollution” enacted into the document by military dictators Gen Ziaul Haq and Musharraf.

Zardari, who is also the PPP co-chairperson, said the restoration of the 1973 Constitution to its original form was the mission of Benazir's life.

He added that the task was achieved through the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The father and son congratulated the nation in their messages on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the 1973 Constitution.

They both expressed their determination to render any sacrifice necessary for the protection of the Constitution.

Amid the ongoing tussle between the government and judiciary, the former president said the elected parliament of Pakistan was the “biggest court of the country” as it belonged to the people.

“All would have to surrender before this court,” he added.

Zardari said the country was facing difficulties today as some elements had deviated from the Constitution.

He added that therefore, now was the time that the Constitution was followed for the sake of the nation and country.

“The power to make future decisions for the country should be left to parliament,” he continued.

In his message on the golden jubilee of the 1973 Constitution, Bilawal said the document was the country's national agenda and bond of the federation.

He added that the Constitution was a gift of his maternal grandfather, PPP founder and former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, to the nation.

The PPP chairman saluted all the political leaders, who played their role in creating a unanimous Constitution for the nation, adding that after August 14, 1947, the second most important day in the country's history was April 10, 1973 -- the date when it was framed.

Bilawal said the Constitution of 1973 was a true reflection of Pakistan.

“As Pakistan is a federal state, our Constitution is a federal Constitution; our country is an Islamic country, so the spirit of our Constitution [lies in] Islamic teachings,” he continued.

“We are a country of democrats, so ours is a democratic Constitution and is the guarantee of our national solidarity and unity,” the PPP chairman added.

Zardari also termed the 1973 Constitution a gift to the people by the PPP founder, saying it was a document formed by consensus and carried the signatures of all the members of the National Assembly.

The former president said the importance of the 1973 Constitution could be gauged by how all the members in the NA with different political and religious affiliations had signed the document, agreeing to the document.

He paid tribute to all the politicians, who had signed the 1973 Constitution.