The lower house of parliament passed another resolution on Tuesday, asking the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ‘fix a practical date’ for the mammoth exercise. PHOTO: FILE
The local bodies’ election appears to have snowballed into a larger bone of contention than previously thought. While the Supreme Court wants the LB polls held at the earliest, the National Assembly insists the exercise be delayed to provide ample time for the administration to make preparations.
The lower house of parliament passed another resolution on Tuesday, asking the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ‘fix a practical date’ for the mammoth exercise. The house, however, clarified that its move wasn’t aimed at putting the state institutions on a collision path.
Since an earlier resolution passed by the National Assembly didn’t make any difference, a ruling party lawmaker urged Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to assert his authority in order to ensure the sovereignty of the legislature while the other MPs said every institution was subservient to parliament.
“No one should draw the conclusion that we want a clash of state institutions,” PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai said after the house passed the resolution. However, he made it clear that “every institution, including the army and the judiciary, must be subservient to parliament”.
Achakzai said the parliamentary resolution was like a ‘decree’ and the “ECP must obey the decree of parliament”.
PTI lawmaker from Karachi, Dr Arif Alvi, had moved the resolution which reads, “This house is fully conscious of the imperative to hold LB elections throughout the country in accordance with the Constitution. This house demands that the ECP carry out its function as stated in Article 140 A(2) of the Constitution and hold these elections in a fair, free and transparent manner as soon as possible.”
“This house reiterates that the elections conducted in haste will violate the above Article. This house demands the ECP fix a practical date after ensuring that all legal and administrative arrangements are in place in the entire country,” it adds.
After the house passed the resolution, Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah said that “this resolution appeals to every institution to listen to this house”.
It was Shah’s speech that triggered a debate on the LB polls as he appealed to the judiciary not to ruin other institutions by its ‘inflexible attitude’. “Why are you bulldozing a parliament which reinstated the judges [sacked by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf],” asked Shah. “Who will respect parliament if the judiciary doesn’t?”
Emotional in tone and critical in arguments, Shah went to the extent that the speaker had to expunge some of his remarks terming them ‘un-parliamentary’.
“I’m just afraid of contempt [of court] because the court rulings can’t be discussed,” said Shah when the speaker expunged his remarks. “Why did you make it a matter of ego? Because you [the chief justice] are retiring on December 11,” he said.
PML-N lawmaker Sheikh Rohail Asghar urged the speaker to assert his authority as the custodian of the house. “For how long will you pass resolutions that will be rejected?”
Asghar said that those who rejected parliamentary resolutions were actually denying the existence of this house. “This is because we [politicians] are divided. Let’s put our differences aside for the sanctity of parliament,” he added.
Earlier, the house rejected a constitutional amendment bill moved by MNA Jamshed Ahmed Dasti, seeking an increase in the retirement age of the Chief Justice of Pakistan from 65 to 67 years. Dasti said the incumbent judiciary had given historic decisions and should be given more time to serve. However, a majority vote did not allow his motion for further deliberations over the bill.
Who is a martyr?
The session also witnessed a verbal duel between lawmakers from the MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami over a controversy triggered by a statement of Syed Munawar Hassan.
MQM’s Sajid Ahmed accused the JI of having double standards while paying tributes to the services of Pakistan Army whereas Sahibzada Tariqullah from the JI held the MQM responsible for the volatile law and order situation in Karachi.
“We [the JI] have always paid tributes to the army whereas your leader [Altaf Hussain] had written a letter against the army while sitting in London,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2013.
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