Adil Najam
Pakistan seems to be in a whole new phase of ‘politics by References.’
The speaker of the National Assembly has forwarded the disqualification reference against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, which was filed by opposition members of National Assembly Thursday in the chamber of Speaker National Assembly.
The opposition members in the reference have demanded of the speaker to send it to Election Commission within 30 days. A reference, signed by 31 opposition members, stated that prime minister is not eligible for Assembly membership under articles 62 and 63 of the constitution.
According to a charge framed in the reference, prime minister had caused stock market crisis through his front man Arif Habib and earned the money by illegal means. Privatization of Steel Mills also mentioned in the reference and stated that the verdict of the Supreme Court in this connection is sufficient for disqualification of the prime minister.
Addressing a news conference in Parliament cafeteria after filing the reference, opposition members Liaquat Baloch, Khurshid Shah and Khwaja Asif said that speaker is bound to forward the reference to the Election Commission within 30 days. They demanded the speaker to send the reference against Shaukat Aziz with the same swiftness with which he sent the reference against Imran Khan to Election Commission.
I must say, I do not like any of these references. Mostly because I do not like the idea of ‘Politics by References.’
Individual references could well have merit and as a political tool they are perfectly legitimate. However, what this new “Politics by References” signifies is an urge to use this particular tool because other political tools are either unavailable or have become defunct. In being so, this “Politics by References” is an indicator of an assault on politics. Not just ‘democratic politics’, but politics.
When political processes and options are restricted, political operatives (whether they are elected or not) find alternative means by which to indulge in politics. At the very extreme these ‘alternative means’ are violent. That is why the democratic political space must never be constricted.
In general, it is better for politics to be played out in the arena of public will and public voice, rather than through the legalities and technicalities of references. However, when the politics of public voice is constrained, it is then that the politics of technicalities takes center stage.
everyone in our beloved parliment is so pure ‘pak shak’ clean charcter person .only imran khan is the person who did ‘moral lapses’..this is not politics of refrence it is politics of revenge …Musharaf act like bloody bush either with us or against,the person who r against killed like bugti,humilated like jamali or CJP ,the person who are with us have free hands does not matter even he killed thousands of pakistani,no one dare to case against 5/12 massacre.
There is no electricity in Pakistan, Karachi has regular 6-8 breakdowns and parliamentarians are focusing on article 62-63 which if applied will make almost all MPAs non-functional.
Politics so complicated and when call I pakistan to know whats going on, no one has any clue, all I hear that politicians busy giving emotional speaches. I dont have a time or will here in America to get engaged. I wonder what is the statistics of litrate people now in the country. It was pretty bad 10 years ago. Why make politics so complicated ,where most of the men and women can hardly read or write?
I agree with Adil that this is not healthy. If the opposition wanted to retaliate they should’ve gone after the president who is like a deadly cancer bent upon clinging to the body of this nation at all costs. His removal is a must for the survival of Pakistan.
The opposition should submit an impeachment motion against Musharraf. That will force Musharraf’s hand into dissolving the parliament. It will be a win-win situation for the opposition because:
1) Musharraf will be criticized for dissolving the parliament after the impeachment papers are filed. If he does not dissolve the parliament, he’ll still be in panick mode given the mood of rebels in the Q league.
2) There is no gurantee that PPP will win and and elect him as president in the next assmbly.
I also agree with Humaira. The problem in our system is that there is no transparent way for a change of government. Whoever comes to power(especially generals) cling to the nation like a deadly cancer. When the voice of people is shunned you’ll get problems like breakup of east Pakistan, ethnic tourble in Sind, rebellion in Balochistan and then the stupid politics of references.
I agree with Adil that this is not healthy. If the opposition wanted to retaliate they should’ve gone after the president who is like a deadly cancer bent upon clinging to the body of this nation at all costs. His remval is a must for the survival of Pakistan.
The opposition should submit an impeachment motion against the Musharraf. That will force Musharraf’s and into dissolving the parliament. It will be a win-win situation for the opposition because:
1) Musharraf will be criticized for dissolving the parliament after the impeachment papers were filed
2) He’ll be in a panick mode (already is), since there is no gurantee that PPP will win and and elect him as president in the next assmbly.