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Politicians must look to future
Who did what over the past six decades is now history. Pakistan needs a complete break from the past.
- By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
- Published: 23:51 August 22, 2008
The future president of Pakistan will be no more than a figurehead, as his wings will be clipped after article 58-2B of the Pakistan Constitution is abolished. This article gives him the power to dissolve assemblies and send the elected government packing.
Unlike former president Pervez Musharraf, the new president will also have no role to play in the "war against terrorism" because now the power will rest with the parliament and the prime minister. The US will be directly dealing with the elected government.
And it is also evident from the fact that the coalition government partners do not seem to be in a hurry to name a new candidate for presidency, even six days after Musharraf's resignation. A new president has to be elected within 30 days.
The ruling coalition partners are still busy pondering on the issue of restoring deposed Supreme Court judges.
As matter of fact, a new president has to be elected according to the procedure laid down in the constitution and the ruling coalition's high-command has to shoulder greater responsibility under the changed circumstances to pick up a suitable candidate for the top slot in the country. But choosing a right candidate is expected to take more rounds of marathon meetings. One wrong step at this juncture may prove costly for everyone.
Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif has already stated that he is not interested in becoming the president and Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had once said that he will not be running for the highest office in the land. But, he is now giving it a second thought and even the pro-Musharraf Muthahida Quami Movement (MQM) has declared him the "most suitable candidate for the presidency".
Provided the judge's issue is resolved, the race for the presidency will be feverish next week. Zardari wants someone in the presidency who should not be a threat to the government.
Sharif wants someone from a smaller province or someone from his own party and subsequently the name of Ghaus Ali Shah, a senior PML-N leader has also surfaced for the possible candidate to be the president.
Political sources said that the ruling coalition is also considering Baloch leader Attaullah Mengal for the position as part of the reconciliation effort with Balochistan, where military operations were launched by Musharraf.
Top slot
Names of former chief justice (retd) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqi and justice (retd) Wajeehuddin Ahmad for the top slot are also circulating, in acknowledgement of the lawyers' movement to oust Musharraf.
The name of Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur, who won from the late Benazir Bhutto's seat from Larkana, is also on the list of people for the top slot but it may send a wrong message to coalition partners and the public.
Options notwithstanding, the ruling coalition partners cannot afford to lose any time on barren name-calling or futile posturing. The exit of a common adversary (Musharraf) should not make the coalition partners negligent about the need to strengthen mutual understanding.
Nobody should have any illusions that the crises Pakistan faces today are beyond the capacity of any single party or any narrow alliance to solve.
They will not be overcome until all political groups pool their wisdom and resources and launch a concerted and coordinated campaign to salvage the state.
Back to clipping the president's power, the article 58-2b of the constitutions was introduced by the late Martial Law Administrator and president General Zia-ul-Haq in 1985 to give himself power to control the parliament.
He used his power and dissolved the government of former prime minister Mohammad Khan Junejo in 1988.
Former president Gulam Isaq Khan ended the first stint of the late Benazir Bhutto in government in 1990, using the same article. He again took advantage of his absolute power and dethroned Sharif in 1993.
The late Bhutto appointed her loyal party leader Farooq Leghari as the president when she came to power again in 1993 but she could not abolish the article of "absolute power" because she did not have the two-thirds majority required to bring in constitutional amendments. Leghari also did not hesitate to dissolve Bhutto's government once again in 1996 on charges of corruption.
Once again, Sharif came to power in 1997 and appointed his trusted man, justice Rafiq Tarar as president and managed to curtail the president's powers.
But despite that Tarar could not complete his tenure because by then Musharraf had seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999. Musharraf again got the power to dissolve parliament by introducing the 17th amendment in the constitution, after he got himself elected as president of the country in 2001.
But for the first time in the history of Pakistan, he could not use it because of immense pressure from coalition government partners and public to quit.
Pakistan's political history shows that politics in this country has always revolved around the struggle for supremacy between the two centres of power - president and the parliament. In the past six decades, the struggle more often than not has resulted in the victory of the former.
But the moment of final victory for democracy over authoritarianism in Pakistan arrived with the president's resignation.
Who did what over the past six decades is now history. The country needs a complete break from the past. All parties should now focus on the future and give some relief to public who voted for them.
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