"March 31 is a historic day in the parliamentary history of the country. Why? Because after 77 meeting in 9 months the committee formed for the 18th amendment got the signatures with the consensus on the report. The committee was chaired by Raza Rabbani and for me they’ve done their work. I wish that we’ll soon get the good news when both the houses will pass this report.
Even though I may not like some of the clauses in the 18th amendment but this we should respect it. Why? Because after so many years it is passed with a consensus in the presence of different parties which shows that even if they have ideological or political differences they came up with some special thing which is accepted to everyone.
Fehmida Mirza announced that the room in the parliament house where the committee had conducted over 77 meetings in the past nine months for the revival of the 1973 constitution in its original form should now be called the constitution room
I was thinking that issue of renaming NWFP was also in the constitution and ANP leader and JUI-F leader was not there (However, Afrasayab Khattak and Haji Muhammad Adeel (ANP), Rehmatullah Kakar (JUI-F), were present there and signed the report) and I hope in the end no one would say that even the renaming issue which should be the issue of NWFP people and it is passed in Punjab through the consent of PML-N and PML-Q or you can include PPP as well.
Those who signed the consensus amendment document included, among others, PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf, Babar Awan, Haji Lashkari Raeesani and Mian Raza Rabbani, PML-N’s Ishaq Dar, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan and Hassan Iqbal, PML-Q’s Wasim Sajjad, S.M. Zafar and Humayun Saifullah Khan, Muttahida’s Dr Farooq Sattar and Haider Abbas Rizvi (MQM), Afrasayab Khattak and Haji Muhammad Adeel (ANP), Rehmatullah Kakar (JUI-F), Justice (retd) Abdur Razzaq Thaheem (PML-F), Srarullah Zehri (BNP-A), Prof Khurshid Ahmad (Jamaat-i-Islami), Mir Hasil Bizenjo (NP), Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (PPP-S), Abdul Rahim Mandokhel (PMAP), Shahid Hasan Bugti (JWP) and Munir Khan Orazkzai (Fata). Karamat Hussain Niazi, secretary of the National Assembly, and Raja Muhammad Amin, secretary of the Senate, also signed the document as parliamentary officials.
What will happen to Islamic clauses of 1981 or in other words the Islamic clauses made in the era of General Zia-ul-Haq. Hudood ordinance has already been abolished in the Musharraf era. Thus it will be restored when 18th amendment will be abolished or these are few things which they are considering in the 18th amendment, related to the powers of Prime Minister and President. In that case Politicians are just doing it for their own sake without taking into consideration of the will, wishes and well being of the people. I am not saying here that hudood ordinance is or isn’t the will, wishes and well being of the people but generally, is everything will be abolished what Musharraf did or few things from his amendment.
Talking more about the religious laws, what about the Blasphemy law are they going to change it? I was listening to one of the high ranked Islamic scholars who is also a mufti that hudood ordinance under the law is accurate but the main problem is system. I would say first correct the system and then implement hudood ordinance. Similarly, if Blasphemy law is not implemented accurately then let’s correct the system first and the implement the law, otherwise we’ll end up with killing innocent people without any reason. Though I believe that before the law non-Muslims were killed without taking the name of this law and now they kill them by taking the name of Blasphemy law.
I would hope that after these amendments, politicians will be looking into the other problems, such as consumer protection rights, price control measures, law of institutions, and above all they will form a committee who will actually work and give some solution within a year that how to implement the laws, regulations in the country.
