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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
The Pakistan Army, that has been in the forefront of political affairs since 1958 directly or indirectly, would now have a formal role sanctified by the Constitution, through the National Security Council. The Council, ostensibly a consultative body, with representation to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the three Service Chiefs, would deal with matters pertaining to `sovereignty, integrity and security' of the state. Restoration of the President's powers to dissolve the National Assembly at his/her `discretion'; power of the Governor to dissolve the Provincial Assembly; Presidential power to appoint Joint Chiefs of Staff and the three Service Chiefs; Governors in consultation with the Prime Minister; constitution of an interim government 60 days before the expiry of the term of a government or dissolution of the Assembly and autonomy to the Election Commission are the other highlights of the amendments that have been introduced. Gen. Musharraf contended that there was no need for him to get the amendments or his position as President ratified by the new Parliament — he is deemed to have been elected as President for a further period of five years from October 2002 through the controversial referendum held in April this year. The only concession Gen. Musharraf gave the critics of his statute amendment package related to the expansion of the civilian component of the National Security Council. He said at a crowded press conference here that the Council, to be headed by the President, besides the Army representatives, would consist of the Prime Minister, the Chief Ministers of the four provinces, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and the Leader of the Senate. Gen. Musharraf was frank in his admission that a majority of those consulted by his Government in the last five weeks had opposed the idea of creating the Council. But, in his view the Council was essential. His defence being "if you want to keep the Army out, you have to get them in.'' On the incorporation of a specific article for his continuation as the President and COAS for another five years, Gen. Musharraf reiterated what he has been saying for over a year now. "I see a role for myself and the need for my continuation. It is too important to be delegated to anyone else. Pakistan is passing through a very crucial transitional period. We are taking Pakistan from a democratic dictatorship to an elected democracy. I want to introduce a sustainable democratic order.'' Responding to questions, Gen. Musharraf said the future Parliament would have the powers to roll back the amendments. At the same time, the amendments were necessary and it would not be wise to undo any of them. On the contention of political parties that the amendments were in violation of the Supreme Court verdict (that validated the military take-over) Gen. Musharraf said "these amendments have been made by me and are now part of the Constitution. They are very much within the parameters of the apex court judgement.'' The amendments were necessary to effect the essential mechanism of checks and balances for achieving a ``sustainable democratic order.'' Using his pet phrase in the last few weeks, he said there was need for checks and balances on the three ``power brokers'' — the President, the Prime Minister and the COAS. He said his Government's efforts would be crowned with success if ``we brought about a sustainable democratic order and a clean political environment in Pakistan for all times to come.'' The 13th amendment to the Constitution has been scrapped, which revoked the powers of the President to dissolve the Assemblies and appoint the Service Chiefs in his discretion. The amendment was introduced by the military ruler, Zia-ul-Haq, and annulled during the regime of the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif. On checks and balances, article 58 (2B) has been restored, which empowers the President to dissolve the National Assembly. However, a part of it, dealing with the dismissal of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet by the President, has been dropped. Likewise, article 243 has been restored which provides for the appointment of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the three Service Chiefs in his ``discretion.'' Article 63 has been modified to debar loan defaulters, beneficiaries of written-off loans, absconders, criminals and utility bill defaulters. The offices of the National Accountability Bureau, the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, and the local bodies system have been placed in Schedule Six to provide them constitutional protection. The other provisions in Schedule Six include the granting of autonomous status to the Election Commission of Pakistan, lowering the voters age from 21 to 18 years, increase in the general seats in the National and Provincial Assemblies and the Senate and reservation for women; reservation of ten seats for non-Muslim Pakistanis, restoration of joint electorate system and fixing of B.A. as minimum qualification to contest elections.
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