Citizens urged to take part in governance

Legal and rights experts discuss constitutional amendments.

LAHORE: Citizens must take greater responsibility in the governance of the country and pay more attention to the Constitution of Pakistan, said speakers at a seminar at the Dorab Patel Auditorium of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday.

The Understanding Constitutional Amendments and Future Strategies seminar was organised by the Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights with help from the South Asia Partnership-Pakistan (SAP-Pk).

“A constitution is there to safeguard citizens,” said Shabnam Rashid from the SAP-Pk, who hosted the seminar. “It is important for us to understand the amendments made in the constitution. That’s the motive for this seminar.” She called for changes to Article 175(A) of the Constitution, which deals with the procedure for the appointment of judges.

Irfan Mufti, a civil society activist, said citizens must take greater responsibility in governance. “It is the general perception that the Constitution is for government, but that is not true. The Constitution affects citizens’ lives and citizens should understand their responsibility.” Lawyer Abid Hassan Minto criticised the role of judges in the amendment of the Constitution. “It’s the people that make the judges powerful. There are those who think that nothing will be possible without them, in my view things will be possible only without them,” he said.

Advocate Salman Akram Raja also criticised the 18th Amendment, saying it exploited labourers, women and minorities since it supported the Objectives Resolution. He said it was important that citizens made a fuss about issues at the right time and not just be reactive.

He spoke about Shazia, a 12-year-old maid who died in suspicious circumstances. Her employer was recently acquitted of her murder. “When Shazia Bibi was killed it became a hot issue and people showed a lot of interest in it,” he said. “But the other day she was declared to have died of natural causes, and nobody knows anything about it. The media and the public must take responsibility.”

Farooq Tariq, spokesman for the National Labour Party, and Shahtaj Qizalbash, a women’s rights advocate and convener of the Joint Action Committee, also spoke at the seminar.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2010.