Security institutions, judiciary and the so called electables
Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani says new tactics are being used to undermine parliament. While the military establishment and judiciary have played a role in the activity, some of the political parties have also done their bit in weakening the law making body.
During the last PPP tenure the government brought important legislation to strengthen Parliament and the federation. Despite working under Zardari’s shadow, Yousuf Raza Gilani managed to maintain a veneer of parliament’s independence. Unlike Gilani who rarely missed a NA sitting, Nawaz Sharif mostly ignored the Parliament. The example set by him was followed by his ministers and the PML-N legislators leading to the too frequent lack of quorum. Decisions were taken by Nawaz Sharif in his kitchen cabinet which were got through the NA with the help of a comfortable majority enjoyed by PML-N and its allies. There was little attempt at consensus building. This provided an excuse to the PTI to take issues that should have been resolved inside Parliament to the streets, the army and the courts. Both PTI and PML-N sought the intervention of the army chief in September 2014 and that of the judiciary more recently in Panama case.
The Parliament is in a way responsible for undermining itself. It has never tried to reduce the increasing role of money in elections. The NA has thus been turned into a billionaires club. Most of the elected moneybags are unable to comprehend the issues under discussion. Dozens of parliamentarians do not contribute a single word during their tenure. Parliamentarians seeking increase in their emoluments and perks and privileges but remaining frequently absent from the House do not add to the prestige of the Parliament The foul language used by legislators of the PML-N and PTI against one another’s leaders in recent months speaks volumes about the intellectual and political level of some of the parliamentarians. Few would however disagree with Raza Rabbani about the need for developing a consensus on a framework under which executive, judiciary and security establishment work within the domain of the 1973 Constitution.