In a clear show of defiance and determination against unknown pressures, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday made it clear to all and sundry that if the democratic government was sent packing, all (political parties and media) would have to go along. Throughout the National Assembly session, Gilani was actively involved in hectic lobbying to get the Awami National Party (ANP)-backed resolution passed unanimously. However, when talks between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) broke down, Gilani directed the party leaders to get the resolution passed separately.
In a bid to clear the air about perceptions that the government-backed resolution was aimed against a state institution, the prime minister said the resolution was not aimed against the army or the judiciary. He also said the Supreme Court and army had to protect democracy and they would not derail or pack up the system. “The judiciary or the army may have differences of opinion with the government but if there is no democracy, nothing would survive and all would have to go. Nobody will go in separate boxes. If the democratic system is packed up, all of us would have to go home. No one would go alone and rather all would go in the same box,” Gilani warned while making a passionate speech on the floor of the House. Feeling the heat from the apex court’s contempt notice, the visibly perturbed prime minister reminded the judiciary and parliamentarians about his contributions to the restoration of the deposed judges. “The court has issued a notice to me and I will appear before the court on January 19 to show my utmost respect for the institution. Even before taking oath as prime minister, in my first speech made on the floor of the House, I ordered the release of the judges. Even then you say that I am not loyal? I don’t need a certificate for this,” he said. Congratulating the coalition partners on the passage of the government-moved resolution in support of the parliament by the National Assembly, Gilani termed the passage “a defining moment” in the history of the country and the best day for democracy. Gilani said restoring the deposed judges was “like showing a red rag to the bull” as General Pervez Musharraf, who was president of the country at the time, would not have liked it. He said he was beaten with sticks, suffered tear gas and was even jailed and faced anti-terrorism cases for taking part in the campaign to restore the judges. “What more could I have done to show my sincerity,” he said, adding that his party had also suffered for the cause of the judiciary. He urged the judiciary to protect the “species” of politicians like him who he said “are committed to their parties and ideologies”. The prime minister said the resolution would strengthen democracy, democratic institutions and would show the sovereignty of parliament. He thanked all the coalition partners for backing the resolution and the mover of the resolution, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan. “We did not come to the assembly under threat and we are not against any institution. We did not come here to protect ourselves,” he said. Gilani said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had laid down their lives for democracy and credit was due to this parliament that it had restored the 1973 Constitution to its original form. Referring to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the prime minister said it would be discriminatory to hold the government responsible for the controversial law as the creator of the law was free and the PPP was facing the wrath of the judiciary. “We did not make the NRO. The one who made this law is roaming free and all others are facing the music,” he said. He added that the PML-N did not have the intention to support the resolution from the very beginning. The resolution was not presented earlier because the opposition was asking that it should be presented on January 16, he said.