Rabbani calls for dialogue among institutions, executive and Parliament

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman of Senate Mian Raza Rabbani Saturday called for national dialogue among constitutional institutions, executive and Parliament, saying that it was a need of the hour.

“This will be a dialogue led by Parliament between the institutions of the state functioning under the Constitution and not government – Opposition dialogue,” he said while talking to The News and Jang on Saturday.

Former chairman Senate said, in 2017 he spoke of intra-institutional-dialogue and the Senate gave expression to it by inviting the then chief justice of Pakistan Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and the Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to the Committee of the Whole. “This was followed subsequently by the then chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Jawad S Khawaja, calling me for the same in a seminar as a chairman Senate,” he said.

He said the question before the nation today is, whether it is seeking a short time solution or an institutional settlement within the parameters of the Constitution, 1973. A long term solution is what the Federation needs.

Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said this will be a dialogue led by Parliament between the institutions of the state functioning under the Constitution and not government – Opposition dialogue. He said the mechanism and the broad parameters for such a dialogue need to be determined through a national debate, so that all the constitutional institutions work under the constitutional ambits and no one have the complaints of encroachment.

Mian Raza Rabbani said the Federation today stands at the cross road of the history, where, except the road of constitutionalism and rule of law, will weaken the Federation. He said the institutions like of Council of Common Interest (CCI) should be strengthen for better working relationship between the federal government and provinces.