PESHAWAR
Professor Dr. A.H Hilali, former Chairman Political Science Department, University of Peshawar said here Friday that institutional harmony and political dialogue was inevitable for continuity of democracy and supremacy of rule of law and it could be achieved only when all the state institutions works under its constitutional domain.
“The 1973 constitution has fixed powers of all state institutions including legislature, executive and judiciary and the country would move on the path of democracy and rule of law only when it performs its role within the constitution ambit,” he said.
He said deviation from its constitutional role may lead to serious political and judicial crises besides creating anarchy in the society.
“Pakistan is passing through a critical political, economic and legal phase since of its creation 75 years ago and it was the spirit of age that all political and religious leadership and heads of the state institutions work with harmony and cohesion in order to take the country out of existing economic quagmire,” he said.
He said the wrangling between state institutions would serve no objective rather than destabilize the country, which has already been confronted to serious economic challenges and urged political leadership of both the government and opposition to sit together for initiation of a result-oriented grand dialogue to take the ship of democracy to the safe shore.
Dr Hilali urged the Parliament, Govt and SC to show maximum restraint and work under its constitutional ambit imperative for a sustainable democracy and supremacy of rule of law and constitution.
He said the government has started constructive negotiations with the IMF to take the country out of the economic and financial challenges while a political party that dissolved its own assemblies and governments in KP and Punjab was now demanding elections for which billions of rupees were required.
Dr Hilali said the separate elections in KP and Punjab and other provinces and centres would further aggravate the political and economic situation in the country besides there were hardly chances of political and economic stability in case of separate elections.
He said the PTI leadership had made a big political blunder by dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies and their demand for early elections in these provinces in the wake of the poor economic situation of Pakistan was irrational and beyond logic.
Political temperature in the country was heightened after the PTI’s irrational decision regarding dissolution of KP and Punjab assemblies, he said and urged Imran Khan to leave egoism and stubbornness and sit with the government for initiation of a result-oriented and meaningful political dialogue for simultaneous elections inevitable for legitimacy of the future government, polls results and saving of billions of rupees for the national kitty. “I asked if PDM won elections in Punjab had the PTI accepted it,” he said.
Early elections in Punjab and KP would have a direct effect on the national assembly and SIndh and Balochistan’s polls.
He said principles of democracy were primarily based on tolerance, accommodation and respecting each other’s viewpoints and political mandates rather than implementing personal agenda through agitation and confrontation.
Dr Hilali said that problems of common man were increased due to increased price hike and inflation in Khyber Pakthunkhwa where essential commodities were almost out of reach of the poor in Ramazan due to ill economic and financial policies of the previous government.
Gohar Rehman, senior constitutional lawyer and member of Peshawar High Court Bar Association said that taking up of the “SC practice and procedure bill 2023” by an eight members bench and later imposition of bar on its implementation was unprecedented as the pleas were admitted even before the completion of the legislative powers.
Talking to APP, he said that the President was part of the parliament and his final say was yet to be taken on the bill before it was enacted as law.
Under the laws of the conflict of interest, he said it would have been better if the Chief Justice of Pakistan disassociated himself from the SC practice and procedure bill’s hearing after CJP’s powers were regulated.
He said the parliament including national assembly and senate has all the right as per the law and constitution to legislate for the interest of the people and to make the institutions strong.
Gohar Rehman said that all state institutions were deriving powers from the unanimously passed 1973 constitution and interference in each other’s domain would bring disaster for the country.
