EDITORIAL

Constitutional Amendment Package

The Constitutional Amendment Package, which was handed over to MMA has already been approved by the Cabinet. From the initial position of the government, as manifested by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid, during his briefing to the journalists, it appears that the wedge between the government and the opposition remains on certain vital issues and it will be difficult to reach some accord. Though the MMA will convene the supreme council meeting on 23rd in which final decisions with regard to the draft proposed amendment will be taken, speculations about the fate of the package has started intriguing many minds. The MMA has abstained from showing any knee-jerk response to the amendments, and, as such, it would not be expedient to comment on the final shape of the things to come. With President and Prime Minister both scheduled to meet President Bush next week, any tussle in the domestic political scene will not convey the kind of stability they would like under the prevailing circumstances. Any disagreement on LFO and President's uniform will make the political situation more volatile and weaken the position of both the leaders.
Earlier, both the opposition and the government had expressed their willingness to reach a compromise on LFO and President uniform in recent past. But, the details so far available hint that the respective stands are quite rigid and there is little that the government is willing to compromise. There have been some positive indications from the Opposition side but their differences over some vital national issues remain an obstacle in developing a broad-based consensus at the national level.
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had agreed to accept Uniform till Dec 2004, and there was a general impression that a consensus could be forged and some agreement on LFO reached. It will be recalled that in an earlier phase of negotiations between the government and Opposition, the government and MMA had agreed on five out of seven contentious points. However, the process was scuttled due to unscrupulous attitude on both sides. Both the parties, perhaps, tried to galvanise their influence, which scuttled the whole process. It is believed that if the situation is to be improved, commitment will have to be shown to protect the system. For the country is passing through a transitional phase should not be overlooked and, as such, many concessions that might not have been permissible or advisable cannot be totally ruled out under the present conditions. The objective of strengthening the parliamentary democracy had suffered a serious setback on Oct 12 military coup, and therefore the democratic process will have to be carried through with a delicate balance. Any haste or lack of prudence can destroy whatever groundwork has been done so far.
Viewed from the context of economic challenges faced by the nation, the delay in resolving the issues of LFO and President will damage the reforms process badly. Though the economy has shown resilience in recent past, this should not be taken for granted. The unprecedented surge in forex reserves and buoyancy of the stock are sometimes looked at with suspicion due to political instability. This improvement in economic indicators however can hardly be sustainable unless the political consistency is ensured. In the past, Pakistan has suffered a lot for the absence of political stability, and the process should not be repeated again. Economic indicators have so far remained aloof to the negative development on the political fronts but the threshold level is already reached. With increased globalisation and competitiveness for capital flows, such situation is hardly sustainable and would start deteriorating sooner than later. It is therefore necessary that political wrangling in the parliament and outside be stopped forthwith and situation is created where economic activity could restart again.