18th Amendment: Revenge of Pakistani democracy

Democracy is a government of the fools, for the fools, by the fools. (Gorge Burned Shaw) The stated objective of the 18th amendment was to decontaminate the constitution from all the authoritarian amendments made by military rulers particularly 1 th amendment. This was deemed necessary by parliament for various state organs to wor! in cohesion. The "uestion is, has 18th amendment got its stated objective served# The answer is $%. &nstead, this very amendment has ta!en away the essence of democracy from the entire political system in the country. This amendment is nothing but an attempt to hijac! country's constitution ma!ing institutes. (part from that, recent amendment is going to hurt the state by opening too many )andora bo*es. The recent amendment was suppose to ta!e powers from president and give them bac! to the parliament and to the prime minister in order to reverse the impact of 1 th amendment. &ronically instead of giving powers bac! to parliament and )rime +inister %ffice this amendment has turned both these institutes into rubber stamps by conceding many of e*isting powers of these institutes to some ,possibly- non.elected individual politicians. 18th amendment is going to do fo owing in the future! &t would bring more corruption to )a!istani politics by uprooting rule of law, it would promote sham democracy in )a!istan by allocating powers to non.elected people, it would sha!e national integrity and 18th amendment would undermine vital national institutes and below is how/ "eath of ru e of aw and #ustice $ow even a corrupt, ineligible and incompetent politician, as party head, would be able to manipulate the whole political system in the country. This was achieved by ma!ing some very disturbing changes in article 01. This article deals with the eligibility of political contesters in general elections. This amendment has ruined the idea of rule of law and justice. (mendments made in article 01 would enable every convicted criminal to be part of the parliament after five years of his release from jail irrespective of the fact why that person was convicted.

This can also include promoting anti.state propaganda, bringing defamation and ridicule to )a!istan. This has been achieved by removing (rticle 01,1-,&- from constitution and by amending (rticle 01 2132g3. (rticle 01,1-,p- has been removed altogether as this clause was to prohibit absconders to enter into political process of the country. 4ith these critical changes in article 01, political elite has turned itself morally na!ed in front of public. $owhere in the world can a similar amendment even be contemplated but here in )a!istan, ironically, no one has any objection to these changes. 5or record below is e*act te*t changed items in article 01 in 18th (mendment/ ($%cer&t from Artic e '( in constitution )efore 18th amendment) 63. Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) (1) A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if:-

(g) he is propagating an! opinion, or acting in an! manner, prejudicial to the "deolog! of Pa#istan, or the so$ereignt!, integrit! or securit! of Pa#istan, or moralit!, or the maintenance of public order, or the integrit! or independence of the judiciar! of Pa#istan, or %hich defames or brings into ridicule the judiciar! or the Armed &orces of Pa#istan' or

((h) he has been con$icted b! a court of competent jurisdiction on a charge of corrupt practice, moral turpitude or misuse of po%er or authorit! under an! la% for the time being in force' or (i) he has been dismissed from the ser$ice of Pa#istan or ser$ice of a corporation or office set up or controlled b! the &ederal )o$ernment, Pro$incial )o$ernment or a *ocal )o$ernment on the grounds of misconduct or moral turpitude' or (p) he has been con$icted and sentenced to imprisonment for ha$ing absconded b! a competent court under an! la% for the time being in force' or 6 $ow it is worth noting that there is no mention of ta!ing corrupt and convicted persons bac! into political process ever again in original te*t of article 01 but according to new amendments it will become possible for the convicted criminals and absconder to come bac! and be part of the political process all over. &n 18th amendment the following clauses of the article has been substituted as following/ ,7hanges are in bold*1+ Su)stitution of Artic e '( of the ,onstitution.. &n the 7onstitution, for (rticle 01, the following shall be substituted, namely,. 63. Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) (1) A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament),

(g) he has been con$icted b! a court of competent jurisdiction for propagating an! opinion, or acting in an! manner, prejudicial to the ideolog! of Pa#istan, or the so$ereignt!, integrit! or securit! of Pa#istan, or the integrit! or independence of the judiciar! of Pa#istan, or %hich defames or brings into ridicule the judiciar! or the Armed &orces of Pa#istan, unless a period of fi e !ears has elapsed since his release" or (h) he has been# on con iction for an! offence in ol in$ moral turpitude# sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than t%o !ears# unless a period of fi e !ears has elapsed since his release" or (i) he has been dismissed from the ser$ice of Pa#istan or ser$ice of a corporation or office set up or, controlled, b! the &ederal )o$ernment, Pro$incial )o$ernment or a *ocal )o$ernment on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of fi e !ears has elapsed since his dismissal" or

8y loo!ing at amended article 01 it is evident that political elite of )a!istan has compromised over strongest safeguard of democracy i.e. rule of law. $ot only clauses have been changed but some clauses are no more present in newly amended article. &t seems that through amended article political elite has legali9ed all the corruption and misuse of various public offices. 7orruption and misuse of authority are considered atrocious crimes in any democracy in the world but unfortunately in )a!istan corruption is not a concern to the law ma!ers. Promotion of Sham "emocracy &nstead of putting law ma!ers' selection under stricter chec!s, 18th amendment would only encourage corrupt ones to join in. 4ithout rule of law any democracy would be a completely sham and it would have no public approval as no public issue would be solved by subse"uently formed sham democratic system in the country. (nother undemocratic change is the way defection clauses of article 01,(- would be applied to manipulate +)s' conscience. )rior to 18th amendment, defection was $%T applicable to a member parliament in case of his:her vote to constitution bill ,amendment- as per his:her conscience. 8elow is amended te*t and changes are shown in bold words/ 63&. Disqualification on $rounds of defection# etc.(l) "f a member of a Parliamentar! Part! composed of a single political part! in a +ouse(a) resigns from membership of his political part! or joins another Parliamentar! Part!' or (b) $otes or abstains from $oting in the +ouse contrar! to an! direction issued b! the Parliamentar! Part! to %hich he belongs, in relation to(i) election of the Prime Minister or the ,hief Minister' or (ii) a $ote of confidence or a $ote of no-confidence' or (iii) a Mone! -ill or a 'onstitution (&mendment) (ill" +e ma! be declared in %riting b! the Part! )ead to ha$e defected from the political part!, and the Part! )ead ma! for%ard a cop! of the declaration to the Presiding .fficer and the ,hief /lection ,ommissioner and shall similarl! for%ard a cop! thereof to the member concerned: Pro$ided that before ma#ing the declaration, the Part! )ead shall pro$ide such member %ith an opportunit! to sho% cause as to %h! such declaration ma! not be made against him0 (pplying defection on a member parliament who is intending to vote for or against any constitutional bill will ta!e away the freedom of speech from +)s something very critical

for a real democracy. ;nfortunately so.called champions of democracy in )a!istan have made sure that all the political parties would become hostage to single entity/ )arty <ead irrespective to fact if he himself is member of parliament or not. To ensure authoritarian control over political parties' farther article 1 has been edited as well. 7lause = of (rticle 1 is no more part of the constitution. &n presence of this clause intra party elections were a constitutional obligation for all political parties. (fter 18th amendment it is not a constitutional obligation anymore to select a party head through an intraparty election. (s there will be no election within the parties so political parties would becomes personal property of one entity. &t would be prudent to as! the parliamentarians what their role would be in constitution ma!ing in the future# -ndermine .ita /ationa 0nstitutes +ilitary dictatorship in a parliamentary federation is conceived as worse form of governance as it undermines almost all the national institutes li!e parliament and judiciary etc. but what about civilian dictatorship in same federation# 4ell, it would be worst case. Dictatorship, irrespective of its military or civilian incarnation, usually opposes all the democratic norms li!e rule of law, freedom of speech etc. 4ith change in article 01( there is no guarantee that parliament would be able to function freely ever again as any debate on any pertaining issue would be futile as real decision now lies with party head and not with the parliament. 7urrent amendment will not only undermine parliament but office of )rime +inster will also lose its authority as office of country's chief e*ecutive unless he himself is acting li!e party head as well otherwise an elected )+ will have to see towards party head for every move. (s parliament would be bypassed, so any new political and constitutional problem will be settled outside the parliament among party heads. 8y loo!ing at political history of the country it is safe to assume that every political head would use such opportunity to push his:her own agenda ahead by blac! mailing other parties. >atest display of such heinous political impasse was the way ($) got $45) renamed by blac!ing mailing other parties on 18th amendment's approval. ?eeping in mind, current foreign meddling in )a!istani politics this arrangement can be a suicidal not only for political system ,democracy- but for the country itself. $ow it would become easier for foreign meddlers to interfere in )a!istan's internal political affairs by overloo!ing national institutes li!e national assembly and senate. >i!e dictatorship all these meddlers would have to do is to negotiate with one person/ Part! +ead, to simply intimidate or entice him, whatever is wor!able in a given situation, to get job done. 4hat a job can possibly be# 4ell, it may sound li!e conspiracy theory but in fact current government, in the past, has unsuccessfully tried, twice, to undermine premium intelligence institute of )a!istan, &@&, clearly on instructions from abroad.

Aecently, authority to point services chiefs in armed forces have been given to prime minister but in presence of 18th amendment it will be eventually the party head who would appoint the services chief. )ersonal li!es and disli!es in this practice have failed the whole democratic system in the past. )a!istan in current situation cannot afford any political turmoil. $ot only armed forces but judiciary has been also politici9ed through 18th amendment. ( new seven member judicial commission has been raised to appoint judges in <igh 7ourt and @upreme 7ourt. This commission would consist of entities li!e attorney general of )a!istan. )reviously, authority of appointing new judges in higher courts was with 7hief Bustice of )a!istan and political parties, both in government or in opposition, had no role in appointments of judges. Through this process political leadership has tried to hold the power over judiciary. Budicial commission has already been challenged in @upreme 7ourt by )a!istan 8ar 7ouncil and court will listen to the petitions against the formulation of Budicial 7ommission soon. &t seems that government and political parties have created yet n judicial crisis in the country. 8ut this is not the first bane of the 18th amendment. (nother crisis are in ma!ing in shape of ?hyber.)a!htun!hawa and provincial autonomy. Shaking /ationa 0ntegrity )rovincial autonomy has remained a painful e*perience of )a!istani nation and this dogma never met with political acceptance ever since 1C 1 until now. )a!istan since independence was deemed as a strong federation with certain provisions with provinces. (ll the constitutions made in )a!istan since independence rejected political autonomy in its absolute incarnation but current engineered government in &slamabad has resurrected this old buried issue once again. )a!istani constitution li!e many other federations ,including &ndia- had more than two legislative lists dealing with jurisdictions, of center and provinces, to ma!e laws for specified subjects. @ome subjects were shared between center and province through a concurrent list. &n 18th amendment this list has been abolished altogether and all = subjects included in this list have been moved to provinces. The changes in @chedule &D and (rticle E of the constitution have posed new administrative challenges to provincial governments about how to shift subjects which were enlisted in concurrent list previously# 8ut an even bigger challenge at hand is how center and province would agree on formulation of proposed implementation commission before Fth of +ay GE1E and how this commission going to complete devolution of subjects to the provinces before 11 Bune GE11# 8oth dates set in 18th amendment draft. This process is going to test the nerves of law ma!ers as some of the subjects in previously present concurrent lists are such which can't be handed over to provinces alone li!e Hlectricity.

&n federations all over the world having two or three legislative lists is not a problem. &ndia since 1CFE is maintaining more than one legislative list and surprisingly, there, constitutional subjects have been moved from provincial list to federal list e*actly opposite to something )a!istan's newly born democracy is trying to achieve. >ast but not the least, 18th amendment has stirred ethno.linguistic politics in )a!istan by renaming $45) province as ?hyber.)a!htun!hawa. @ub nationalist ($) hijac!ed whole constitutional reform program over this demand and threatened other parties to not let amendments pass if new name is not accepted. 7hanging province name in any country may be not an issue at all but in )a!istan word )a!htunistan or )u!htoon!hwa,?)?- has a very disturbing history which dates bac! to )a!istan movement in 1C=Es. 7reating an independent )a!htun state is an old agenda of sub nationalist leadership of ($). $ew name is not justified by any plausible reason. 5rom its pure historic incarnation it is wrong as till 1CE1 the province was integral part of )unjab. &t was 8ritish Hmpire who divided )unjab on ethnic basis for its own agenda of minimi9ing threat of revolt from )ushtuns of )unjab and (fghanistan so 8ritish came up with a plan of divide and rule which served their purpose successfully. Demographically spea!ing )a!istan is a very diverse country. There are more non. )ushtuns in ?hyber )u!htoon!hwa,?)?-. Demography of former $45) got changed during 1C8E's with a massive influ* of refugees from (fghanistan but they were never accepted as part of local population and would eventually leave )a!istani areas once (fghanistan achieve some durable peace. &t is a factual error on part of many senior analysts who consider ?hyber )u!htoon!hwa,?)?- as a )ushtun majority province. There are other ethnic groups li!e <a9arwals ,the <ind!o spea!ing people-, @arai!i etc. Aepercussions over this name for $45) are already showing signs. $umbers of lives lost in violent incidents particularly in non.)ushtun divisions of the province. Demand of further dividing province on ethnic base has got momentum as well in <a9ara division. There is a real threat of confrontation among various ethnic groups in )a!istan as now many sub nationalist elements in other provinces are raising voices for new provinces by further dividing )a!istan on ethno.linguistic basis which would culminate on wea!ening federation. &t is not a secret that real agenda of ($) and other sub nationalists demanding more provinces on ethnic basis is to convert federation of )a!istan into a loosely bounded confederation with provinces having ma*imum autonomy. ,onc usion (s a result of this amendment, government is standing against judiciary once again. Hthnic politics is on the rise which is another disturbing sign for the federation.

Hradication of authoritarian and non democratic clauses from constitution is mandatory for sustainable democracy in the country but the way 1 th amendment has been removed it is shameful and perfidious not only for democracy but for the whole nation. >egali9ation of corruption, encouraging non democratic political culture and sowing ethnic loathing in nation are few heinous things 18th amendment is going to give to already problematic )a!istan. The clauses discussed in this write up must be re evaluated in the parliament with intense brainstorming so that a true vibrant, dependable and clean democratic culture can be nurtured in )a!istan. ($/") 8y Shah1ad 2asood Roomi