Politicians mainly responsible for trespassing constitution: Asif

ISLAMABAD: PMLN parliamentarian Khawaja Muhammad Asif Monday said politicians were mainly responsible for trespassing the constitutional boundaries creating a political crisis.

“If constitutionally defined boundaries were trespassed in the last 72 years, then politicians were mainly responsible for that because we have been looking to right and left for your regime,” he said, adding, “those who look for you to be in power, then slowly encroach on your territories”.

Taking part in the National Assembly debate on the presidential address to the joint sitting of the Parliament, the PML-N leader said they were politicians who compromised on their constitutional territories by negotiating with the establishment.

“The establishment in our country does not mean the armed forces rather all those powerful in bureaucracy, judiciary or politicians or media make it,” he said.

He admitted that there were a few hundred privileged people, including politicians and not people, who failed the nation.

He said the only solution to the problems being faced by the country was free and fair elections otherwise the political parties would continue to look towards Rawalpindi to support them for reaching the corridors of powers.

“We should go to the people to seek the real mandate so that encroached constitutional territories are taken back,” he said. He said it was mandatory that the Constitution was given respect and encroached territories of institutions were returned to them.

“It is necessary that fair and free elections are held and mandate given by the people is given respect which our party has been talking about,” he said, adding that all power components had been responsible for what had been happening in the last 72 years.

He maintained that vote should be given respect and civil supremacy be established and ensured.

“But when all elections are rigged and Constitution is violated, the civilian supremacy cannot be ensured,” he said, adding if elections were engineered and Constitution was violated in lust for power, then there could be no civilian supremacy.

The PML-N leader said it was a big truth that general elections instead of resolving issues created problems.

“No one can occupy our territory unless politicians become facilitators in derailing the system,” he said.

Addressing the Speaker, the PML-N leader asked him to tell his party leadership to empower the Parliament and respect its decisions to empower people.

“A few hundred privileged people have failed this country and the nation and even the state was facing threats to its existence,” he said.

Khawaja Asif observed that in view of current crisis emerging in Afghanistan, only a united nation could address the same and not a fractured society.

“It is correct to develop relations with other countries but relations should also improve with next door neighbours,” he said, adding what was happening in Afghanistan should act as a wake-up call.

Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood agreed with the PMLN that there had been collaborators who supported non-political and non-democratic order and made compromises to create political space for them.

At the same time, the minister said political governments had also been failing in showing good performance despite ruling the country for many years.

He said politicians and elected representatives had also not been able to come up to the expectations of their voters and continued to become richer in a matter of years.

“This is also a reality in South Asia that countries here are facing inherited politics,” he said.

He said there was need to do away with politics of inheritance, elite and corruption.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf termed the in-camera briefing given by the military leadership to parliamentarians a healthy exercise saying there was need to move continue the same and move one step ahead.

“I thank the military leadership to hear us with patience,” he said.

He said all the stakeholders to should sit together and ponder over the crises being faced by the country.

“All the stakeholders should show the same spirit which was demonstrated in the in-camera. We should look to our weakness and find diagnosis to make them our strength,” he said.