Generals
Turn Parliament Into Kids Debating Club
Pakistani
shelling in a Kargil Hamlet
Opposition Motions on Kargil,
ISI Killed Without Discussion
By
MT Butt
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistani Parliament is being treated like trash by the military
rulers who have simply refused to let the MPs discuss important
issues or place even basic information on foreign affairs before
any of the two Houses.
The
Generals even have stopped the Foreign Ministry from telling the
Senate how many agreements had been signed by Pakistan with other
countries since October 2002.
Though
the Senate session requisitioned by the Opposition to discuss
the 1999 Kargil Debacle was summoned, the Opposition was not allowed
to discuss Kargil and its motion was killed by the Senate Chairman
in the Chamber, saying it was a secret and too sensitive.
Similarly
all other issues of national importance raised by Opposition parliamentarians
have been thrown out simply because they would have either embarrassed
the Army or General Musharraf, making the Upper House look like
a kids debating club, with nothing serious to discuss.
The intriguing decision last week
was not to put before the House the number of agreements signed
with foreign governments. “If we don’t even know what
bilateral and multi-lateral agreements have already been signed,
how can we approve or legislate new agreements and treaties,”
an irritated Senator remarked.
To please the army masters, the chairman
Senate has adopted such a partial attitude towards the Opposition,
he has become the butt of jokes in the Press Gallery where Mr
Mohammedmian Soomro is known as the Guardian of the Ruling Party
and not of the House.
He has killed a number of critical
resolutions which could have exposed the Army or held General
Pervez Musharraf accountable.
Top most on this list was the Kargil
debacle leading to heavy loss of life in the 4th Northern Light
Infantry in 1999. The People's Party of Benazir Bhutto had moved
the resolution calling for the setting up of a Parliamentary Committee
to investigate the Kargil incident. It was killed in the Chamber
by Senate Chairman.
The mover was informed through a
letter that the matter was of a "secret and sensitive nature"
and therefore could not be discussed in the House.
The PPP also asked a question whether
any inquiry had been held into the Kargil war and if so whether
the finding of the inquiry would be placed before the House. The
question was again disallowed on the same grounds.
Rule 121 (4) (f) of the Rules of
Business and Conduct of Business in the Senate 1988 authorize
the Chairman to kill a resolution in the Chamber if in his opinion
it is of secret and a sensitive nature. However, opposition leaders
said there are no guidelines on how to determine that a certain
matter was of a sensitive nature or its discussion could endanger
national security.
There is also no mechanism available
to protest against the killing in Chamber of any question or a
resolution, opposition leaders said.
Another
resolution shot down without any discussion was to enact suitable
legislation to regulate the functioning of the intelligence agencies,
particularly the ISI, with respect to issues relating to raids,
detention and arrest of suspects in the country. This resolution
was also declared as sensitive and of secretive nature.
A
question about any well-defined laws governing the intelligence
agencies was also turned down in the Chamber and was never answered
in the House.
A resolution calling for the appointment
of a self-regulating bipartisan parliamentary inquiry commission
to examine allegations of nuclear sales and to review the National
Command and Control Authority was disallowed and killed in the
Chamber.
A
resolution praising the courage of the police constable in Lahore
who had stopped a car with tinted glasses belonging to a senior
military officer, was declared inadmissible for being "trivial
and of no general interest and importance."
This
resolution pertained to a famous case in which an Army general
beat up a policeman black and blue in Lahore just because he had
stopped the General’s private car which had tinted glasses
in violation of provincial laws. The case had hit the national
and international headlines and turned the cop into a national
hero.
A resolution questioning the exemption
granted to serving defence personnel from payment of toll tax
on major roads and highways was killed just because the Army would
get angry. The resolution had demanded that like all citizens,
the men in uniform should also be required to participate in national
development by paying toll tax like all other commuters.
Opposition parliamentarians have
been protesting over these issues and raising their voice but
no one is prepared to listen.
In frustration they are seeking outside
help. Letters have been sent to the Commonwealth and other international
organizations voicing deep concern over rendering of the National
Parliament into an irrelevant forum by the country's military
rulers. It has been pointed out that questions of great national
importance were being ruled out of discussion in the Parliament.
Analysts say these letters sent by
the Opposition are likely to have a major impact on the decisions
of the Commonwealth and the European Union to re-admit Pakistan
after declaring it as a democratic nation. So far these international
forums have not accepted General Musharraf’s democracy as
genuine.
What
has outraged these Opposition MPs is rejection of the request
that at least a list of foreign agreements be provided to legislators.
Opposition is now trying to bring a bill in Parliament to make
it mandatory for the Government to seek approval of the legislature
before signing any agreement with a foreign country. It may never
be put to vote, it appears.
