Sindh PA calls for implementing 1973 Constitution in letter and spirit

The Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging the efforts of the founding fathers of the Constitution of 1973.

Taking part in the debate, the lawmakers said that the constitution of 1973 is a great landmark for democracy in Pakistan; however, mere passing of a constitution and not implementing it would not serve either democracy or the poor masses of Pakistan.

Muhammad Ismail Rahoo of the PML-N, while paying rich tribute to the founding fathers of the constitution, stressed the need for its implementation in letter and spirit. He said that all political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and political leaders of that era had played a vital role in passing the constitution, adding that it is important to implement the constitution in true sense so that the issues of the masses could be addressed.

“The constitution was not passed so the elite class gets benefits and the poor people continue to suffer,” he said.

Nisar Ahmed Khuhro of PPP, who was one of the movers of the resolution, said: “We congratulate the people of Pakistan on this auspicious occasion and pay rich tribute to the PPP founder and the then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and other political leaders who played a crucial role in passing of the constitution of 1973.”

Imtaiz Ahmed Shaikh of Pakistan Muslim League-F (PML-F) also endorsed the resolution, saying it was a very important day in the history of the country as the country got its first unanimous constitution on this day, he said. He stressed the need for implementation of the constitution in letter and spirit.

Opp criticises govt over corruption in province:

Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi of PML-F bitterly criticised the corruption and bad governance of rulers and alleged that the rulers have shamelessly violated the constitution of Pakistan. They indulged in record corruption, looted the national wealth and sent it abroad, she said.

The PPPP government has failed to solve the issues of people, she said. They can only pay tribute to their leader Zulfikar Bhutto but did not follow his policies and sense of wisdom to serve the poor people of Pakistan, the lawmaker added.

Abbasi said the constitution should be strictly implemented if the rulers are serious and sincere to their voters. The people who distributed sweets when Bhutto was hanged were today shedding crocodile’s tears for him, she said, adding that it is a shame that the ruling PPPP used the Sindh government’s money to observe the recent anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

She asked if the PPP politicians were too poor to fund the anniversary of the founder of their party.

The government replied that the ruling party had already taken notice of the misuse of government funds for observing the anniversary of Bhutto and a probe has already been launched.

Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi advised the rulers to correct their direction and focus on resolving the issues of the poor masses, especially in the Sindh province, where people still give vote to these rulers in the name of Bhutto. She said the current situation in Sindh province is due to the corruption and embezzlement of the sitting rulers.

Ghazala Siyal of the PPPP said, “The opposition criticises us but we have served the people, that is why people have given vote to us and rejected them.” She said that the opposition parties supported military dictators and the opposition had sat in the lap of the dictators, while the PPP leaders and workers laid their lives for democracy.

Imdad Ali Pitafi of the PPPP said, “We pay rich tribute to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and reject the allegations of corruption. We have served the people of Sindh and will continue to do so.”

He said the result of the elections are proof to the fact that the people of Sindh still support the PPP and have rejected the opposition parties.

Abdul Sattar Rajpur of the PPPP said that on this day the country got its constitution and it was a great service of the PPP and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. We have given sacrifices for democracy, he said.

Dr Sikandar Ali Shoro of the PPPP said the opposition had served the dictators in the past and are interested in blame game only.

Sohrab Khan Sarki of the PPPP said the allegations of corruption being leveled against the party are baseless. We have served the people and this is why we are winning all elections in the Sindh province. He added that a few members of opposition are involved in mud-slinging and trading false accusations of corruption. The ruling party is not involved in any corruption, Sohrab said.

Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar of the PML-F said while discussing the history of democracy and constitutions in Pakistan, said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was himself the first civilian martial law administrator of Pakistan and the first civilian dictator of the country.

He said that the PPP founder gave the country constitution but the PPP rulers were the ones who later violated it. There is worst form of dictatorship in Sindh today in the name of democracy, he charged.

The rulers have failed to implement the constitution, he said. Quoting different articles about the fundamental rights, Mahar said the rulers have been continuing to ignore or violate these important articles.

Leader of the House and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said the constitution of 1973 is still acceptable for all of us, adding that it is the Islamic, democratic, federal and parliamentary constitution. He said that the constitution of Pakistan is even better than the constitution of India.

Rejecting the allegation of corruption and bad governance, Qaim Ali Shah said it is not correct to say that our government is not following the constitution. We are following it and we will follow it. It is not proper to relate petting issues to the constitution. Our government is serving people. We pay rich tribute to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and other political leaders of that time for passing the constitution unanimously, he said.