ISLAMABAD(National Times)- A group of retired civil servants, diplomats and military generals has called for equal treatment of all provinces and warned against any constitutional amendment imposed against the wishes of the people, saying the country’s unity and future were at risk amid a deepening political and economic crisis.
In a statement shared with Dawn on Saturday, the Roedad Khan Club, often described as Islamabad’s ‘retired establishment’ because it comprises retired but influential officials, said constitutional rule must be restored in practice rather than maintained as a facade.
The statement was signed by former air chief retired Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak, former bureaucrat Shakil Durrani and former diplomats Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Humayun Qazi and Asif Durrani.
Seek equal treatment of provinces, warn against constitutional changes imposed against public will
“Constitutional rule needs to be restored as a reality, and not as a facade. The military needs to return to its sacred mission of protecting the country, its oath of allegiance, and [Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s] clear instructions,” it said.
The statement comes amid renewed debate over restructuring the provincial system following proposals by senior government figures for the creation of new provinces. The proposals have drawn opposition from political quarters concerned that changes to the provincial map could undermine provincial autonomy and alter the existing balance of power.
The club also rejected what it described as hybrid governance, arguing that a system “in which elected civilian institutions operate alongside an unelected centre of power deepens political resentment and undermines constitutional rule”.
It called for a return to the electoral mandate, saying this could provide a basis for national reconciliation and political stability.
“What is required, instead, is a restitution of the people’s verdict in the last general elections. Alternatively, a fresh election with all the national and regional parties and their chosen leaders participating needs to be a first step on a journey of national reconciliation, revival, transformation and prosperity,” it added.
