Saad blames martial laws, judiciary for crisis

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khawaja Saad Rafique has blamed those who had "trampled" Pakistan for the country's present state, saying repeated amendments to the Constitution had failed to alter the fundamental reality that the country could not function without constitutional rule. Speaking at a dialogue on "Good Governance and Rebuilding of a Collapsed System" organised by Leeds University at a local hotel in Lahore on Saturday, Rafique said those responsible included martial law rulers and their political facilitators. He also held accountable sections of the judiciary for handing down judgments under doctrine of necessity. He deplored that a "factory of traitors" had been established in the country, questioning how late Sindhi nationalist and politician G M Syed could have been called a traitor without being allowed to speak and instead being subjected to repression. He said conditions in Balochistan had worsened and questioned how the state could conceal internal repression. He also asked who had prepared the militias in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, saying the whole nation was now paying the price in blood. Speaking at the conference, former caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said he did not believe the country's system had completely collapsed, but acknowledged that its delivery mechanism was very weak. He said governments based on accountability were recognised by the world and that democracy was the system capable of running them. Kakar said democracy was a form of governance, but political parties had turned themselves into family systems. Senior lawyer Hamid Khan said no democratic government had been allowed to complete its course in Pakistan and argued that this eventually resulted in the country being split into two. Former federal minister and senior political leader Muhammad Ali Durrani said Pakistan had never truly experienced governance. He said maintaining the status quo was no longer an option and urged people to act rather than expect everything to happen without effort. Durrani warned that the younger generation was slipping away and that if its mindset was not understood, young people would no longer accept the status quo. He said the public remained excluded from power and resources to such an extent that even a chief minister needed an aircraft. "Bridging the distance between power and the people is now an urgent need." He said politicians claimed they had been placed in power by force, through "Form 47 with a rope around their necks", and asked who should be considered responsible. In his view, the person who forcibly installed someone in power was not the only culprit; the person who accepted the arrangement was also responsible. Durrani said those operating under a hybrid system should decide for themselves whether that made them liable under Article 6. He warned that Pakistan would not function unless public problems and authority were handed back to the people.