Shahid Khaqan Abbasi decries attempts at secretive amendments

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has lambasted the ruling coalition for trying to surreptitiously amend the Constitution, contending that all legislations and constitutional amendments should be debated in parliament.

“The Constitution should not be amended in the darkness of the night,” Abbasi said on Sunday while talking to journalists at the Peshawar Press Club with reference to a proposed constitutional amendment package that the government is desperate to implement.

The proposed package seeks to introduce some major changes in the country’s justice system including the formation of the Federal Constitutional Court as well as an increase in the tenure of chief justices.

“There should be a debate on the amendment in parliament. In the current situation, all political parties should come together for a national dialogue. The country cannot afford another debacle,” he added.

Abbasi who was on a visit to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) provincial capital, said if incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan has committed a crime under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 then he should be put on trial.

He noted that more than a year had elapsed since May 9, 2023 rioting incidents and yet the trial of Imran, whose PTI is blamed for the incidents, has not started. “No clear evidence has been presented against him [Imran] so far,” he added.

Violent protests erupted across the country on May 9, 2023, after the paramilitary rangers arrested Imran Khan from the premises of the capital’s high court in connection with a corruption case.

During these protests, rioters vandalised and set fire to military installations and memorials. The rioting was followed by a heavy-handed crackdown against the former ruling party.

Talking with reference to the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with the K-P province in 2018, he said the merger was completed, but the promises made to the tribal people have not been fulfilled in any way.

“The situation in the tribal areas has significantly worsened compared to before,” he said. Interestingly Abbasi was serving as the PM when the merger took place.

In response to a question, he said PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur is now the chief minister of the K-P, and he should think and act as the province’s chief executive. He said roads were blocked due to a PTI protest in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

“The government should have allowed the party to hold rallies and protests. Protests and rallies are the fundamental right of any political party,” he said.