ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said on Thursday that instead of abolishing Articles 62, and 63 of the Constitution, they should be applied to judges and generals as well.
Talking to various delegations on Thursday, he said that the masses wanted to know the purpose of the government’s protest. “If the rulers do not accept the courts’ decision, how will the supremacy of the law be established?” he asked. He pointed out that the heads of the armed forces and of the state institutions had been appointed by the former PM, and he could not hoodwink the masses by talking of a conspiracy. He further said that many of those who had been party to the abrogation of the constitution by Pervez Musharraf had been with the ousted PM in his government and had also taken oath in the interim government.
The JI chief said that the rulers themselves had strengthened the individuals and the families and weakened the parliament. “The Parliament did not know where the internal and foreign policies of the country were framed. Which forum has been deciding the Pak- US policy or the Pak- Afghan policy? There have been several major tragedies in the country from time to time, but those responsible were never held accountable,” he said. “The policy that resulted in the martyrdom of 65 thousand people and financial loss to the tune of more than one billion dollars was not framed by the parliament,” he added. The nation was never informed of the Humoodur Rehman Commission or the Abbotabad Commission reports, he said. Sirajul Haq said that during the last seventy years, the country had been ruled either by the generals or two political parties. “Dictatorship and democracy have destroyed the democratic institutions. Efforts were made to build individuals as heroes.
The number of the factories, mills and palaces of the politicians has been rising as if they have Allah Din’s lamp,” he said. The JI said that the political parties having representation in the parliament could ensure the supremacy of the law and the Constitution. He said that unless and until, there was real democracy within the political parties, democratic system could not be strong in the country.
Published in Daily Times, August 11th 2017.
