Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Saturday proposed amendments to the government-sponsored resolution tabled in National Assembly, asking the government to implement all previous parliamentary resolutions and verdicts of superior judiciary. The resolution tabled in the lower house of the Parliament in the wake of a widening gulf between the state institutions will be put for a vote in the House on Monday.
The major opposition party, PML-N, which sought time to deliberate on the resolution till Monday, however came with three surprising amendments to its draft that has been submitted to National Assembly Secretariat for consideration by leader of opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan through his office.
According to the first amendment in para-3 of the resolution for the words "and all state institutions must strictly function within the limits imposed on them by the Constitution", the following shall be substituted as "and in this regard calls upon the government to immediately implement, in letter and spirit, all previous resolutions of parliament and all decisions of the superior judiciary and to ensure that all administrative actions are strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law, for smooth functioning of all state institutions'."
It has also proposed substitution of Para-4, stating that "this House reaffirms that as stated in the first paragraph of the preamble to the Constitution, 'sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust".
It also proposed that Para 5 shall be substituted by the following, as "Finally this House emphasises that the best guarantee for the strengthening of democracy is the successful resolution of the problems of the people of Pakistan by democratic institutions through dedicated, selfless and corruption-free services for the welfare of the common man and in this regard calls upon the government to discharge its constitutional obligations and provide relief to the suffering masses by devoting all energies and efforts to improve governance, eliminate gas and electricity load-shedding, control inflation, create employment opportunities and put the country back on the path of self-reliant economic growth."
In the proposed draft resolution, the PML-N has deleted the last para of the government resolution already tabled in the House that says "this House endorses and supports the efforts made by the political leadership for strengthening democracy and reposes full confidence and trust in them (political leadership)".
The draft of the resolution proposed by PML-N after substitution of the amendments says "This House believes that the present democratic dispensation, which is about to complete four years, came in to being as a result of great sacrifices rendered by the people of Pakistan.
"This house reiterates the belief of the democratic forces that the future of Pakistan and well being of its people lies in the continuation and strengthening of democratic institutions and constitutionalism for the resolution of national issues, strengthening of the federation and empowering the people of Pakistan.
"This house believes that for the furtherance of democracy and democratic institutions the basic constitutional principle of trichotomy of powers must be fully respected and adhered to and in this regard calls upon the Government to immediately implement, in letter and spirit, all previous resolutions of Parliament and all decisions of the superior judiciary and to ensure that all administrative actions are strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law, for smooth functioning of all state institutions.
"This house reaffirms that as stated in the first paragraph of the Preamble to the Constitution, 'Sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by him is a sacred trust.'
"Finally this House emphasises that the best guarantee for the strengthening of democracy is the successful resolution of the problems of the people of Pakistan by democratic institutions through dedicated, selfless and corruption-free services for the welfare of the common man and in this regard calls upon the government to discharge its constitutional obligations and provide relief to the suffering masses by devoting all energies and efforts to improve governance, eliminate gas and electricity load-shedding, control inflation, create employment opportunities and put the country back on the path of self-reliant economic growth."