The
Amendments People Want
Afaaq
Kaukubb
FIFTY FIVE years since independence and the generals still reign
supreme. Without having any role in the independence movement, they
continue to keep the whole 
country
to themselves. For far too long the external, internal, economic
and security policies of the nation have remained hostage to uniformed
fiat. Its about time for us to speak.
We
the people must lay claim to our country. Its about time to clarify
once and for all whether the tail would continue to wag the dog
or would it be the other way round. Its about time for the politicians
who have unfortunately remained contended with, and mutually squibbled
over, whatever little crumbs the generals have been throwing at
them off and on from the power-soup, to clearly position themselves
on one side of the divide.
It
is about time to give a stake to us people in our country, in terms
of individual liberties, universal quality education, healthcare,
social security, gainful employment etc .
It
is about time we the people proclaim that the raison-de-etre of
the state is to provide, protect and secure these fundamental rights
and not sacrifice them on the pretext of providing geographical
security, which we have recently been informed cannot be assured
with conventional forces due to the sheer miltary size of our percieved
enemies.
Inspite
of gobbling up more than 40% of our money every year (we are not
permitted to know the how, where and why of its expenditure),and
being the cause for more than 77% of the total debt of US$38 billion
that we and our children have to pay, and sitting on all the prime
land of our country in the form of cantonments, and having taken
innumerable 'murrabbas' of agricultural land as rewards for God
knows what, and owning and running a business empire worth billions
in sectors least concerned with defence, the generals now have the
nerve to tell us that we cannot match our so called adversary in
conventional war.
So
we have the bomb, and the generals are there to protect the bomb,
and the bomb is there to protect the generals, and in this merry-go-around,
there is no mention of our basic rights, values and freedoms. While
we groan and strain under the weight of all the duties, our uniformed
friends have taken for themselves all the rights. As if the havoc
played till date was not enough, as if robbing us of our bread and
our butter has not been sufficient, as if the snatching of our social,
political and economic freedoms does not suffice, now we have been
graciously doled out a set of constitutional amendments to complete
the conquering and colonisation of whatever remains of our rag tag
country outside the cantonement limits.
Propped
up by over one million guns and a docile, servile and subservient
judiciary that never wastes an oppurtunity of providing legitimacy
to their guns and boots with legal jargon, and is never found wanting
in giving them mandates which the judiciary itself does not have
(like mandating one individual general to amend the whole constitution
of 140 million people), we have been given as fait accompli a set
of constitutional amenments whose sole aim is to effectively, explicitly
and permanently impose the military as an institution over the country
and General Musharraf as an individual over the nation.
And
the irony of it all is, that the amendments to the constitution,
a consensus document framed in the aftermath of the loss of half
of our country primarily due to the generals, have been concieved
once again by the generals. We have seen the performance of the
generals and the help they gave us in Kashmir in 1947, and again
at Tashkent in 1966, and in Dacca in 1971, and in Siachin in 1982,
and in Ojrhi in 1988 and in Kargil in 1999, and in WAPDA and in
Pak. Steel and in a hundred other non-military institutions they
boss over.
Yes
we know that they have been studying this constitution minutely
since its promulgation, and they want to amend those articles which
are not advantageous to their corporate interests. Yes they are
keen observers. But so are we. We the people too have observed the
working of the constitution closely. We too have seen how the anti
sedition Article 6 of the constitution has never worked, and no
one espescially the judiciary has ever told us under what circumstances
will it ever be applicable instead of the doctrine of necessity.
We too have identified those of its articles not beneficial to us.
And we too would like to propose a few amendments of our own.
We
must do it ourselves because our political leaders lack the guts,
the depth, the vision, the comprehension, the moral fibre and the
sense of duty to do the same. We the people must do it, for effectively,
explicitly and permanently imposing our will on our country under
God. Yes it is time the 'bloody civilians' also have their day in
the sun. Yes it is time the people, you and me, alongwith our duties,
should have our rights too. Yes sir, it is time for all and sundry
including the Press to make their choices and be counted. We therefore
propose these amendments to our constituion as opposed to those
dished out by the Naqvi-Musharraf combine.
We
would like the following three clauses to be added at the end of
Article 6 of the constitution:
(a)
In case of a change in government by means other than those enshrined
in the constitution, notwithstanding the circumstances, it will
be the duty and responsibilty of the citizens of Pakistan not to
pay any taxes, duties, cesses or fees till such time the government
is re-established according to the principles enshrined in the constitution.
(b)
A gathering of more than 50 personnel belonging to the Army, Navy
or Airforce, without the written permission of the prime minister
within a radius of fifty miles of the federal or provincial capitals
would be deemed to be sedition and would be punishable with death.
(Yes this would imply that the cantonments would be shifted to places
outside the 50-mile radius of the federal and provincial capitals.
The same would be true especially for the 111 brigade).
(c)
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other article of the constitution
and notwithstanding anything contained in any judicial judgment
or constitutional interpretation, all those responsible for changes
in government since 1973, by processes not specifically mentioned
in the constitution, and all those abetting the same would forthwith
lose all titles, pecuniary benefits, properties, past and present,
and would be tried for treason in a joint sitting of parliament.
It would be the sole authority of parliament to devise procedures
for implementing this clause.
(d)
We have also seen that all our fundamental rights (rights of free
speech, association, religion, assembly, trade, profession, movement,
property, etc etc, as mentioned from Article 7 to article 28 of
the constitution have been limited with the words "subject
to restrictions by law in the interest and greater glory of islam,
integrity security and defence of Pakistan, friendly relations with
foreign states, public order, decency, morality, etc etc."
Our fundamental rights have been lost in the plethora of all these
subjections. Subjections which have given the state the right to
assume a colossus role in our daily lives.All these subjections
need to be removed except that of decency. Decency covers all that
is necessary.
(e)
The budgeted amount for defense shall be less than the budgeted
amount for the social sectors unless permitted by two third majority
ascertained in a joint sitting of parliament.
(f)
No financial bill would be passed by parliament unless debated item
wise.
(e)
Judges of the superior courts would be for life unless they resign
or are removed due to ill health or other reasons by two third majority
of the senate. The courts would be financially and administratively
independent of the executive branch.
Verbosity
would no longer do. The question is how do we go about getting our
country back?
