By IANS
Islamabad : President Pervez Musharraf may have lifted the emergency and promised free and fair elections, but the constitution has been damaged forever, Pakistani newspaper editorials said Sunday.
“A blow has been delivered to the very concept of parliamentary sovereignty because the amendments made to the 1973 constitution by the fiat of one man (Musharraf) do not need parliament’s approval,” Dawn said in its editorial titled “Will it make any difference?”
“The book by which the country would now be governed is no longer the same,” The News said in its editorial “Back to the constitution”.
In lifting the emergency, Musharraf “has promulgated ordinances to protect the changes he has brought about in the judiciary, implying a severe blow to the constitution”, said Daily Times in its editorial “Ready, set, go for elections”.
“The emergency was imposed by Gen. Musharraf in his capacity as chief of the army staff, but later the power to impose and lift it was transferred by Gen. Musharraf to President Musharraf,” Dawn noted.
“This way, President Musharraf endorsed in practical terms (former) president Ziaul Haq’s opinion that the constitution was a piece of paper he could tear up any time.”
Holding that the constitutional amendments made since the Nov 3 emergency cannot be undone except by a two-thirds majority of parliament, Dawn said: “All indications are that the Jan 8 elections will give us a hung parliament, in which the opposition will find it impossible to garner that many votes.
“In other words, the lower house that will come into being next month will be presented with a fait accompli,” Dawn contended.
“What can initially be said about the highly complicated legal and constitutional orders issued to revert to the pre-Nov 3 position is that the book by which the country would now be governed is no longer the same,” said The News.
“It has been amended, for some still a highly controversial and debatable issue, to fully protect and indemnify all acts, decisions and orders issued during that 42-day extra-constitutional period,” The News added.
According to the newspaper, the revoking of the emergency and repealing the PCO “clearly states it shall not invalidate, nullify or render ineffective any order passed or action taken during the emergency and all such acts shall be deemed to have been validly and legally done notwithstanding anything contained in the constitution or any other law for the time being in force.”
“It also states that the revocation of the proclamation of emergency or the repeal of the PCO shall not affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the original proclamation orders of the emergency or the PCO and the oath of judges,” The News said editorially.
“Thus, an attempt has been made to cover the tracks as far as possible and if there is any problem in future, a provision has been kept which provides that if any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions, the president may make more such provisions and pass such orders as he may deem fit,” The News maintained.
“The set of ordinances amending the Constitution makes sure that the lifting of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) that he had imposed together with Emergency does not automatically restore the dismissed judges,” said Daily Times.
“The ordinances validate the new judges and give the ousted judges their pensions before saying a final goodbye to them.”