Another govt bid to nix lifetime disqualification

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Friday passed a bill with a majority vote seeking to limit disqualification of legislators to five years, with a retrospective effect. 

The bill made an amendment to the relevant law to limit the disqualification of a parliamentarian to five years where not specified by the law.

While the government billed it as a landmark legislation, the opposition called it person-specific and severely protested against it.

Apparently, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led opposition was taken by surprise, when the supplementary agenda was allowed by the chair to be taken up during the continuing discussion on the budget.

The bill originally sought to empower the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to unilaterally announce date for general election, which was introduced in the House by Minister of State for Law Shahadat Awan after suspension of rules and was taken up for consideration at once. The routine exercise of referring it to the House standing committee for deliberations and report was avoided.

The amendment related to abolition of lifetime disqualification was introduced in the Senate by Hafiz Abdul Karim and Dilawar Khan, on their behalf and on behalf of a group of senators mainly from Balochistan.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar explained the bill before the amendment was moved and pointed out that under the original law, 1976, the Election Commission was mandated to fix the date for general election. But, after the imposition of martial law in 1977, the then military ruler General Ziaul Haq, through an ordinance, had given the power to the President. The minister noted that an anomaly in the law was highlighted by the commission and accordingly the issue was deliberated upon by a joint parliamentary committee, which by consensus cleared the bill. He continued that the Elections Act, 2017 would be applicable where the Constitution is silent.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem rose to oppose the bill outright, making it clear that constitutional provisions could not be changed through simple legislation, insisting the Constitution was very clear on the issue of power for announcement of election date.

He contended the Constitution also specifies the timelines of 60 and 90 days for elections after completion of term or dissolution respectively, and any date after that period would be violation of the Constitution. He also remarked, “keeping in view the ECP’s performance, the passage of the bill would be a joke with the Constitution.”

The opposition leader feared the proposed legislation would sideline the Constitution and create ambiguity, as the bill contained ambiguous legislation.

To this, Minister Tarar agreed that the Constitution was the supreme law, but said it draws a broader line and speaks through the subordinate legislation.

The controversy, however, did not end here, as an amendment to limit the disqualification for five years for legislators where not specified by law, was moved in the House and it sparked another war of words.

One of the movers of the amendment, Dilawar Khan, an independent group senator, said ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, former federal Minister Jehangir Tareen and many politicians from Balochistan would benefit from the law. The opposition was asked not to oppose the legislation, with a warning that “this sword might be used against the PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan as well”. But the opposition spoke against it forcefully.

The opposition leader was alarmed by what he called the person-specific legislation, with retrospective effect. JI’s Mushtaq Ahmad also opposed the bill and said there was no ambiguity in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

He went on to allege that the government wanted to gradually render qualification and disqualification clauses ineffective. However, the government appeared unconvinced and the law minister maintained it was the parliament’s mandate to legislate and no other institution could perform that function.

Senator Tarar argued, “we give our beards in their hands and then shed tears over re-writing of the Constitution. This is not the mandate of the court to usurp right of the parliament and write the Constitution”.

Ex-premier Yusuf Raza Gilani paid tributes to the Balochistan Awami Party over its contribution to the legislative move and remarked, “there is no victim sitting here, except me, who can explain that in 1958 with one stroke of pen, top political leaders across then East and West Pakistan were disqualified through the Elected Bodies Disqualification Order for seven years”.

Afterwards, he noted regularly under 58-2/B, everyone, who came to power, was disqualified by the president and once he (Gilani) went to the court as the NA speaker and wanted to know why the legislature was sent packing, he was told not to worry as his perks and privileges were intact for 90 days.

He continued that he reminded the court that he was asking about the disqualification of his NA members. He recalled how his government, taking on board all political forces, empowered the Parliament instead of the President on dissolution of the assembly issue.

Gilani said then president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir had told him that while he was happy on this development, from now onwards the apex court would be using that power (58-2/B).

Looking towards the PTI-led opposition, he asked if they wanted to take away that power from the Parliament. “This is off the record that when the Election Commission had told him he could not context Senate polls for he was disqualified, he explained to have already contested 2018 elections; he had received a call that ‘I had disqualified you for five years, then why they want to bar you from election now’,” Gilani said.

He also clarified that he was not the legislation’s beneficiary, as he had already remained disqualified for five years and explained the legislation was for the future generations to discourage the one who was angrier, who wanted to disqualify for a longer period.

Irfanul Haque Siddiqui of the PMLN pointed out that Senator Mushtaq Ahmad said that the bill was person-specific, which in fact was not and wondered, “Why don’t we speak when person-specific courts, benches, JITs are made and WhatsApp calls are carried out and judges are pressurised”.

He claimed the entire history was filled with person-specific verdicts from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto till to date. “Why we don’t allow the House to use what is its mandate and when the Constitution is silent on the time period of disqualification, then the Parliament should play its role, which had thrashed out the Constitution as well,” he contended.

Senator Irfan said the courts might interpret the Constitution at will, but the House is mandated to do legislation. He alleged the courts do resort to injustices and excesses and even today, it was being objected that why the review application should be converted into an appeal.

“The courts have delivered dozens of decisions that are in conflict with the Constitution. Where is it written in the Constitution that in Punjab, certain votes could not be counted. The entire nation knows their leader is benefitting more than anyone else from the NAB amendments and they were billing it as an NRO,” he noted.

PMLN’s Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed praised the legislation and recalled that when in 2017, Nawaz Sharif was got disqualified by the then establishment through the apex court, he was alone to describe it as a soft coup at that time.

He also made mention of three judgements, the hanging of ex-PM Bhutto, which he called a judicial murder, the banning of the National Awami Party and declaring Wali Khan as a traitor, and said those three cases were never seen as precedents, as all that was wrong.

However, he said that politicians should not be tried under military courts, as it was unacceptable and the past mistakes should not be repeated and there should be the rule of law.

Senator Tahir Bizenjo of the National Party said trouble starts when certain institutions become political and opponents are targeted. “The Constitution calls the Parliament supreme and if any other assumes its role, then the country can’t be run,” he remarked.

The BAP parliamentary leader Manzoor Ahmad Kakar said the new legislation would help strengthen the legislature and democracy. He regretted that disqualification had served a severe blow to politicians and cited the example of Shoaib Nusherwani, who was disqualified for life as MPA, when he was 25 years old.

Separately, the bills pertaining to the Election Commission Act and increase in emoluments of the members of Senate are likely to become part of the book by the end of June. The bills would be laid before the National Assembly in the last week of the month immediate after passage of the finance bill.

Sources told The News the government had devised a strategy to get presidential assent for the bills, adopted by the two houses of the Parliament without any delay. The bills would be consigned for the assent to the Presidency in the days when President Arif Alvi would be away from the country, as he is scheduled to leave for performing Haj late next week.

Sources said Arif Alvi gave his assent to a bill last month and that indicated he had given up the attitude of creating hurdles in the way of the government. Despite this change in attitude, the government could not take risk and was keen to get the amendments inserted in the Election Act without any delay, since the efforts to get the disqualification of PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif reverted are underway.

“Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, any other law for the time being in force and judgement, order or decree of any court, including the Supreme Court and a high court, the disqualification of a person to be elected, chosen or to remain as a member of the Parliament or provincial assembly under paragraph (f) of clause (1) of Article 62 of the Constitution shall be for a period not exceeding five years from the declaration of the court of law in that regard and such declaration shall be subject to the due process of law,” stated the bill. It said that the procedure, manner and duration of disqualifications and qualifications should be as specifically provided for in relevant provisions of Articles 63 and 64 of the Constitution. “Where no such procedure, manner or duration has been provided for therein, the provisions of this Act shall apply,” it added.

Section 57-1 stated that the ECP would be authorised to announce the date for the general elections. Section 58 said: “The Commission may, at any time after the issue of the notification under sub-section (1) of that section [57-1], make such alterations in the Election Programme announced in that notification for the different stages of the election or may issue a fresh Election Programme as may, in its opinion to be recorded in writing, be necessary for the purposes of this Act.”