Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani on Thursday said Article 6 of the Constitution had become “virtually redundant” to prevent the derailment of democracy in future, adding that “laws and constitutional amendments provide no guarantee in this regard either”.“The parliamentary history of Pakistan remained unpleasant due to derailment of democracy which contributed to the alienation of the people from their representatives,” the chairman remarked.
Article 6 of the constitution deals with matters of “high treason” and states that “any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.”
Rabbani expressed these views at a ceremony held in connection with the launch of a revamped Senate website and the updated status of the “Restoration of the Majesty and Transparency in the Parliament (RMTP)” project initiated this year.
He said the poor and the working class of the country would never stand up to defend parliamentary democracy unless they maintain a feeling of ownership of the Parliament and are convinced it will stand up to defend them.
“The downtrodden segment of the society is not prepared to defend the Parliament at this point,” he said.