ANP-led APC backs supremacy of parliament

Parties demand elections on same day; regret division in apex court

ISLAMABAD:

 

An all-parties conference (APC) convened by the Awami National Party (ANP) on Wednesday called for ensuring the supremacy of parliament in any case and that the elections for all the assemblies should be held on the same day.

A joint declaration adopted at the APC noted that the ongoing political, judicial, and economic crises had created uncertainty in the country, warning that current political polarisation was unprecedented.

In all, 30 parties were invited to the APC. However, ANP leaders Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Haider Khan Hoti later said that not all the parties attended the conference. Conspicuous for its absence at the APC was the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Elections

Reading from the joint declaration after the conference, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that political issues had to be resolved through political dialogue. He regretted that the PTI was holding talks with the government but skipped the APC.

“All of the parties at the APC agree on having the elections on the same day,” the declaration said. “All the political parties should decide the date of the elections through mutual negotiations, it added.

Responding to a question, Hussain said that the participants also discussed a matter of not holding elections within the 90 days of the dissolution of assemblies as per the Constitution.

“They stated that if the Punjab Assembly had remained intact, the K-P [Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa] Assembly would not have been dissolved. They questioned where is it written that the chief minister would dissolve the assembly on the instructions of the party leader,” he added.

The joint declaration stated that the political parties and parliament are the place of political decisions. If political decisions were taken to the courts, a judicial crisis would arise.

The participants agreed that the function of the court was to interpret the Constitution while legislation was the domain of parliament. “All constitutional, legal, and political aspects have to be taken into account to resolve the dispute on the date of elections.”

The APC regretted the division within the Supreme Court. It stated that not forming the full court, rewriting the Constitution instead of interpreting Article 63-A, and not accepting the 3-4 decision of the court were the basis of the ongoing crisis.

“We demand that the judiciary should limit itself to the interpretation of the Constitution while remaining within the constitutional jurisdiction,” the joint declarations further stated.

The APC demanded that concerns of the relevant parties regarding the census should be removed, especially in the new districts of K-P, Quetta and other Pashtun areas of Balochistan and Karachi and other urban areas of Sindh.

Terrorism

The declaration further said that a new wave of terrorism in K-P and other parts of the country had taken a very dangerous form. It added that terrorism rose because of the unconstitutional negotiations, resettlement of terrorists and their release from jails.

“Why was the agreed National Action Plan against terrorism not implemented,” the APC asked, demanding that those responsible should be held accountable. It added that action should be taken according to the law.

The joint declaration further said that the people did not trust in the past military operations because of which, the people, instead of the terrorists, suffered serious loss of life and property.

“We demand that civil armed forces [police and levies, etc] be organised and armed on modern lines, with the support of the people, to take targeted and effective action against terrorists,” the declaration.

Provincial autonomy

The APC noted that economic depression, inflation, unemployment and increase in the prices of electricity, gas, petrol, and flour prices had made life miserable for the people. “We demand that a new ‘charter of economy’ be agreed upon,” it added.

The joint declaration stated that any conspiracy against provincial autonomy would not be tolerated. “The 18th Constitutional Amendment should be implemented in its letter and spirit. Devolution of powers should be ensured and the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award should be given immediately.”

At the same time, the APC said, the protection of the net profit of electricity and the surcharge and royalty of gas and petrol and other such provincial constitutional rights of the provinces should be ensured.

The APC also demanded restoration of the student unions, revision of the 19th Constitutional Amendment, return of the missing persons, and restoration of the Agricultural Land Reforms Act of 1977.