[:en]BY ASIM SHEHZAD
LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while talking to journalists at the Parliament House on Friday discussed in detail the issues of Pakistani politics, economy and judiciary.
While answering the questions of the journalists, Chairman Bilawal said that the biggest task for any parliament is changes in legislation and changes in the constitution. He said that this was demonstrated and was the first and the biggest success achieved by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto when he gave a consensus Islamic democratic and federal constitution to the country. After that we restored the same constitution by the 18th amendment.
At present every institution is facing one or the other challenge and everyone can see that this system is not working. It is also known that the third generation of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had to wait for justice. Now when this is the situation, a common man has to face many difficulties to get justice. All our institutions are facing problems, including the Parliament. Journalism is also faced with difficulties. Journalism plays an important role. We need independent journalism as well as responsible journalism. Recently, journalists were abused in a rally. The media should also have a standard so that if any wrong news is broadcast, it should be clarified in the same way.
The law and order situation in the country is also worrying. Recently there were incidents of terrorism in Balochistan and the situation in KP is even worse. The Chief Minister of KP is facing problems in his own village. Terrorism has to be fought by the provincial and federal government together. At this time, it is seen for the first time that there are difficulties in giving peace to the people of Pakistan and it is the first time that politics is being done on this issue. There is a glimmer of hope since yesterday an all-party committee has been formed in Parliament to look into the issues. He said that we have established this committee willingly. There should be a working relationship in Parliament so that people’s problems can be resolved. If we do that, it will be a huge success.
The idea behind the Charter of Democracy was to solve the problems of the people of Pakistan and all the institutions become functional. We have implemented 90% of the Charter of Democracy, only a few points remain. One of them is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which can work on every national issue and is very important. The NAB reforms which were in the Charter of Democracy must also be implemented. NAB should not become an institution of political victimization only. The Charter of Democracy also contained points regarding the Judiciary which were introduced by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to make the courts powerful and the courts to start functioning and to give quick and cheap justice to the common man. Inflation is a huge problem at present and we all want suggestions to be given to reduce inflation and how inflation can be reduced and this can only be done through mutual consultation and discussion. Currently, the problems of Pakistan are not being solved due to the politics of hatred.
On the question of extending the tenure of the Chief Justice, he said that it cannot be the decision of a single individual. The stand of Pakistan Peoples Party is based on the Charter of Democracy. PPP has been criticizing the way appointments are being made in the judiciary at present. After the Eighteenth Amendment, it was forcibly changed and the Nineteenth Amendment was passed. The process of appointment in the Judiciary is “of the Judiciary, for the Judiciary, by the Judiciary”. This process needs to be improved. We should make every decision with as much consensus as possible. Responding to another question, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that at present there are only discussions on the constitutional amendments. Now Maulana Fazlur Rahman himself is included in the committee formed by the Speaker. If the committee wants to amend the constitution, we will do it and if it doesn’t, we won’t. This committee is expected at least to formulate a code of conduct for Parliament.
On the question of governor’s rule in KP, he said that Pakistan People’s Party is against governor’s rule, but if governor’s rule is imposed in certain circumstances, then governor’s rule cannot be imposed for a long time in the presence of the 18th Amendment. We want to work with the spirit of the “Charter of democracy”. We want to establish a working relationship. It will be welcome if the rest of the points of the CoD are implemented. We would always like to participate in this committee in a democratic, constitutional and positive manner. He said that his aim in politics is not to join the government. Our aim is to eradicate the problems of the people like inflation and poverty and to improve the economy of the country. Similarly, we want improvement in every institution.[:]