PESHAWAR(National Times)- JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday pointed out a structural weakness on opposition benches, noting that the opposition leader failed to unite parties to effectively challenge the recent government legislation on armed forces command.
While noting that opposition walkouts without active resistance have harmed democratic checks and balances, the JUI-F chief urged joint opposition coordination inside parliament to prevent further unchecked legislative actions.
“The recent legislation was passed in a great haste, without any debate and even opposition members did not examine it in detail,” Maulana Fazl added while addressing party workers’ convention, organised by the JUI-F Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, in Peshawar.
In his speech, he offered scathing critique of the recent legislations, creation of new provinces and law and order situation in the country.
He said that they supported Pakistan’s strong defence capability, but rejected military’s interference in politics.
Maulana Fazl regretted that even the administrative powers of prime minister within the armed forces have now been vested in one person. He noted the laws also had an overriding effect over other legislations that were in conflict with it.
He claimed that when they had raised in parliament the issue of making the Holy Quran and Sunnah as the supreme law of the land in the past, the then chief justice of Pakistan declared that all clauses of the Constitution were equal and no single clause could be superior to another.
However, he said that legislation was carried out to concentrate power and authority in establishment with overriding effect over other laws that were in conflict with it.
The powers that should have been vested in parliament were concentrated within a person, he reiterated, adding that his office’s authority had been extended over the army, air force, and the navy as well and it would hold all powers, including dismissing someone, extending someone’s service, accepting and rejecting someone resignation, and all these powers were previously vested in the federal government.
He said that the wishes of the head of one institution were being imposed on all other institutions and the entire nation.
Maulana Fazl said that as the federal government surrendered its authority and it could also enact any other legislation whenever need arises, taking the parliament out of the equation. He said that it was the opposition leader’s job to unite all the parties sitting on opposition benches and it was lacking there.
He said he met the opposition leader and discussed a joint strategy to play their role as joint opposition inside the parliament. He said he has proposed to the opposition leader to keep an eye on such things inside the parliament. “They have done a big damage and we do not even know what has happened,” he said.
He also said that the same law immediately went to Senate and passed within 30 minutes and the opposition was happy about staging a walkout.
The JUI-F chief underscored the importance of a strong opposition in parliament to force the government to listen to them.
New provinces
Referring to the security situation in KP, Maulana Fazl also criticised the formation of new provinces, saying that it was not prudent to talk about divisions when the house itself was on fire.
He believed the creation of new provinces was aimed at reversing the National Finance Commission Award and “capturing” the mineral resources of provinces.
He recalled that they had also opposed the Fata merger with KP and the situation vindicated their stance.
