The Centre for Civic Education Pakistan with support from National Endowment for Democracy arranged a National Conference on, “Challenges of Deepening Democracy in Pakistan.” The Conference examined the political development and constitutional amendments and their impact on making the country a vibrant democracy. The conference started with a keynote address by Senator Raza Rabbani, chairman of the Constitution Reforms Committee and presently steering the process of its’ implementation. Seven other members of the committee namely: Senator Ishaq Dar, Mr. Ahsan Iqbal (MNA) and Sardar Methtab Abbasi (MNA) of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Senator S. M. Zafar of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam, Senator Afrasiab Khattak and Senator Haji Adeel of Awami National Party and Senator Abdul Malik of National Party were panelist during the conference.
In his keynote address, Senator Raza Rabbani said expecting from the nose to grow to fit the mask is one thing and molding the mask to fit the nose is another. It is this latter approach which seems to have inspired the members of the Committee on Constitutional Reforms to get the historic Eighteenth Amendment through the rigorous parliamentary process. “This process,” said Senator, Raza Rabbani, “is set to continue till we find a home-grown equation out of the variance of our country.” Appreciating the political will and legislative vigor demonstrated by the members of the Committee Senator Rabbani of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) termed the Eighteenth Amendment as “just another step to reach that equation.”
Senator Rabbani elaborated the contours of homegrown equation and how it became possible for them to take this step. Introduction of the concept of joint management of resources, revitalization of the Council of Common Interest, paradigm shift in devolution are some of the contours of the equation about which he spoke at length in his address. “Apart from this there are some other unique aspects of the work done by the Committee for example revamping the 1973 Constitution,” he said referring to the way military dictators distorted the Constitution and the way subsequent parliaments ratified those distortions. According to him it is the culture of political tolerance due to which the Committee was able to successfully reach a consensus despite a wide spectrum of points of view.
“The Amendment not only cleansed the 1973 Constitution of these distortions but has also recognized the struggle of the provinces that they need to be made part and parcel of policy making process of Islamabad. They need to have control over their natural resources and have joint management with federation. By doing this we have shattered the myth that a strong center is a guarantee of a strong Pakistan- and have proven that a strong province is a guarantee of a strong Pakistan.” Among the league of federations Pakistan is distinguished today by the outlook it has assumed in the wake of the Eighteenth Amendment. He attributed this distinction to the political will, legislative vigor and culture of tolerance in the country. Talking about the incremental nature of implementation process Mr. Rabbani said that in the first week of December the Commission will facilitate handing over (devolution) of power to five ministries followed by the second stage which will begin in the first week of February, 2011.
“This is not going to be easy. There are bound to be hiccups in our way but given the political will we are sure to surmount them. But the talent of parliamentarians and the beauty of federation lie in finding out that equation,” Rabbani said congratulating his colleagues for getting closer to the equation.
Senator Ishaq Dar, a PML (N) leader and member of Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms said that the politics of consensus-building and reconciliation which started with the signing of Charter of Democracy in 2006 by the leaders of two main political parties culminated in the passage of 18th Amendment. Making the military coup of 1999 against his party’s government, emergency imposed on Nov 3 to hijack the higher judiciary as the reference points of his speech Mr. Dar said it was the high time for the implementation of Article 6.
Endorsing Raza Rabbani’s view that the 18th amendment was not an ideal piece but a consensus document he said “we had to be realistic about the demands that were sky high. We had to consider what was affordable on federal point of view and what was not. We were conscious of affordability and sustainability of the process,” he said adding that with NFC Award we have more resources transferred to the provinces.
Sharing his memories about the work-environment of Reform Committee Senator Dar said: “It was interesting time. We, the 26 members of the committee, had more than the informal meetings, we had been teaching and learning from each other, it was kind of a relationship the class teachers have with students and vice versa. Why something is not doable? What are the constraints? These were the most recurrent questions during our meetings and deliberations.” He said that the most interesting change was regarding the appointment of higher judiciary as there was monopoly over appointments of judicial members until committee interventions.
Hailing the 18th Amendment for restoring the parliamentary character of state Senator Afrasiab Khattak of Awami National Party said that the successive military regimes after the 1973 Constitution had twisted primarily a parliamentary system into the presidential one. “The country was being run like a unitary state. The center, during these years, tried to impose uniformity by force. There was a culture of denial of various entities which started taking roots during these years,” he said adding after all that it was pleasant to have formed a Parliamentary Reform Committee having representation from 14 political parties including a group of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). “This gives hope also because the constitution is one way of the only two ways a society can control a state. The second is the elections,” he said the Amendment also strengthened the society’s hold over the state.
Senator S. M. Zafar said national consensus could be achieved even on most controversial issues if there is will and capacity to do so. “We arrived at consensus within 3 months. That shows we have capacity to visit our past and reinterpret our history. We found that in the past we had a strong central federation that didn’t work because it created disharmony so we got more provincial autonomy. A special message has been sent across to the people of Baluchistan through 18th amendment is that we want to change our pattern of previous political relationship with Baluchistan and its people which was non democratic in past”. He said it was mandatory for all including the parliament, judiciary, executive and army to accept the supremacy of the constitution. He also said it was the responsibility of the parliamentarians and the civil society to ensure that the constitution was being implemented.
Senator Abdul Malik of National Party of Baluchistan, member of constitutional reforms committee said three subjects that its party proposed to be left with the center included currency, foreign affairs and defense. All the rest were proposed to be devolved to the provinces. “The concurrent list was a big problem between federating units and federation but then again with a lot of deliberation we reached consensus. We had faced difficulties from the beginning regarding resource distribution especially Baluchistan and Sindh but we were able to reach an agreement where 50 percent was given to the federating units.” He said that the 18th amendment was not all that they wanted. “We wanted that all Pakistani nationalities should get constitutional protection of their languages and traditions but that was not taken in.” He said some of his party’s suggestions were not incorporated in the 18th Amendment. “Despite that, I think we have come a long way forward and we hope to continue to move forward if the democratic dispensation remains in place.
Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel of National Awami Party praised the work of Committee as it helped them undo colonial nomenclature. “We are pleased that we have our name Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. We tried to give the right to lead Pakistan to non-Muslim Pakistanis but this was unsuccessful too. Finally, we were unable to introduce progressive taxation under the constitution. Despite the shortcoming the Eighteenth Amendment remains a milestone in the constitutional history of the country,” he said.
During the second session a veteran human rights activist, Mr. I. A. Rehman attributed the strength of Pakistani federalism to the diversity of cultures and languages. He said that these were the provinces that made Pakistan and not vice versa. “The provinces are not subjects of the center but are the federating coordinates and that a strong federation does not mean a strong center. A strong federation is made of strong federating units with some powers as agreed by all lying with the center”. Mr. Rehman also said that all the democratic movements in Pakistan were inspired by the democratic movements steered by the federating units.
Among other who expressed their views on the occasion include: Jami Chandio, Hussain Naqi, and Aqeel Abbas Jafri. All the speakers while appreciated the role played by the Reform Committee also urged the civil society organizations to play their role. All the participants stressed the need for an initiative that could make people aware of their constitutional rights. It was unanimously agreed that the ultimate responsibility for the safeguard and implementation of the constitution lied with the civil society. This is where the Center for Civic Education comes in.
Defining the role of the Center for Civic Education (CCE) its Executive Director Zafarullah Khan announced the launching of constitutional literacy campaign. He said the Center worked with 20 universities in Pakistan to capacitate young people to stand up for rule of law and governance. “I was shocked to learn that copies of the Constitution are not available in many libraries. Secondly, most of the websites according to our web watch do not offer up-dated versions. So we have printed the copies of constitution which we will share with all universities and press clubs and the other individuals who are interested”. He also said that the Center had prepared a small booklet about citizens’ fundamental rights keeping in view the difficulty for the people who have no legal background.

The Centre for Civic Education Pakistan with support from National Endowment for Democracy arranged a National Conference on, “Challenges of Deepening Democracy in Pakistan.” The Conference examined the political development and constitutional amendments and their impact on making the country a vibrant democracy. The conference started with a keynote address by Senator Raza Rabbani, chairman of the Constitution Reforms Committee and presently steering the process of its’ implementation. Seven other members of the committee namely: Senator Ishaq Dar, Mr. Ahsan Iqbal (MNA) and Sardar Methtab Abbasi (MNA) of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Senator S. M. Zafar of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam, Senator Afrasiab Khattak and Senator Haji Adeel of Awami National Party and Senator Abdul Malik of National Party were panelist during the conference.  In his keynote address, Senator Raza Rabbani said expecting from the nose to grow to fit the mask is one thing and molding the mask to fit the nose is another. It is this latter approach which seems to have inspired the members of the Committee on Constitutional Reforms to get the historic Eighteenth Amendment through the rigorous parliamentary process. “This process,” said Senator, Raza Rabbani, “is set to continue till we find a home-grown equation out of the variance of our country.” Appreciating the political will and legislative vigor demonstrated by the members of the Committee Senator Rabbani of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) termed the Eighteenth Amendment as “just another step to reach that equation.”Senator Rabbani elaborated the contours of homegrown equation and how it became possible for them to take this step. Introduction of the concept of joint management of resources, revitalization of the Council of Common Interest, paradigm shift in devolution are some of the contours of the equation about which he spoke at length in his address. “Apart from this there are some other unique aspects of the work done by the Committee for example revamping the 1973 Constitution,” he said referring to the way military dictators distorted the Constitution and the way subsequent parliaments ratified those distortions. According to him it is the culture of political tolerance due to which the Committee was able to successfully reach a consensus despite a wide spectrum of points of view.”The Amendment not only cleansed the 1973 Constitution of these distortions but has also recognized the struggle of the provinces that they need to be made part and parcel of policy making process of Islamabad. They need to have control over their natural resources and have joint management with federation. By doing this we have shattered the myth that a strong center is a guarantee of a strong Pakistan- and have proven that a strong province is a guarantee of a strong Pakistan.” Among the league of federations Pakistan is distinguished today by the outlook it has assumed in the wake of the Eighteenth Amendment. He attributed this distinction to the political will, legislative vigor and culture of tolerance in the country. Talking about the incremental nature of implementation process Mr. Rabbani said that in the first week of December the Commission will facilitate handing over (devolution) of power to five ministries followed by the second stage which will begin in the first week of February, 2011.”This is not going to be easy. There are bound to be hiccups in our way but given the political will we are sure to surmount them. But the talent of parliamentarians and the beauty of federation lie in finding out that equation,” Rabbani said congratulating his colleagues for getting closer to the equation.Senator Ishaq Dar, a PML (N) leader and member of Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms said that the politics of consensus-building and reconciliation which started with the signing of Charter of Democracy in 2006 by the leaders of two main political parties culminated in the passage of 18th Amendment. Making the military coup of 1999 against his party’s government, emergency imposed on Nov 3 to hijack the higher judiciary as the reference points of his speech Mr. Dar said it was the high time for the implementation of Article 6.Endorsing Raza Rabbani’s view that the 18th amendment was not an ideal piece but a consensus document he said “we had to be realistic about the demands that were sky high. We had to consider what was affordable on federal point of view and what was not. We were conscious of affordability and sustainability of the process,” he said adding that with NFC Award we have more resources transferred to the provinces.Sharing his memories about the work-environment of Reform Committee Senator Dar said: “It was interesting time. We, the 26 members of the committee, had more than the informal meetings, we had been teaching and learning from each other, it was kind of a relationship the class teachers have with students and vice versa. Why something is not doable? What are the constraints? These were the most recurrent questions during our meetings and deliberations.” He said that the most interesting change was regarding the appointment of higher judiciary as there was monopoly over appointments of judicial members until committee interventions.Hailing the 18th Amendment for restoring the parliamentary character of state Senator Afrasiab Khattak of Awami National Party said that the successive military regimes after the 1973 Constitution had twisted primarily a parliamentary system into the presidential one. “The country was being run like a unitary state. The center, during these years, tried to impose uniformity by force. There was a culture of denial of various entities which started taking roots during these years,” he said adding after all that it was pleasant to have formed a Parliamentary Reform Committee having representation from 14 political parties including a group of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). “This gives hope also because the constitution is one way of the only two ways a society can control a state. The second is the elections,” he said the Amendment also strengthened the society’s hold over the state.Senator S. M. Zafar said national consensus could be achieved even on most controversial issues if there is will and capacity to do so. “We arrived at consensus within 3 months. That shows we have capacity to visit our past and reinterpret our history. We found that in the past we had a strong central federation that didn’t work because it created disharmony so we got more provincial autonomy. A special message has been sent across to the people of Baluchistan through 18th amendment is that we want to change our pattern of previous political relationship with Baluchistan and its people which was non democratic in past”. He said it was mandatory for all including the parliament, judiciary, executive and army to accept the supremacy of the constitution. He also said it was the responsibility of the parliamentarians and the civil society to ensure that the constitution was being implemented.Senator Abdul Malik of National Party of Baluchistan, member of constitutional reforms committee said three subjects that its party proposed to be left with the center included currency, foreign affairs and defense. All the rest were proposed to be devolved to the provinces. “The concurrent list was a big problem between federating units and federation but then again with a lot of deliberation we reached consensus. We had faced difficulties from the beginning regarding resource distribution especially Baluchistan and Sindh but we were able to reach an agreement where 50 percent was given to the federating units.” He said that the 18th amendment was not all that they wanted. “We wanted that all Pakistani nationalities should get constitutional protection of their languages and traditions but that was not taken in.” He said some of his party’s suggestions were not incorporated in the 18th Amendment. “Despite that, I think we have come a long way forward and we hope to continue to move forward if the democratic dispensation remains in place. Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel of National Awami Party praised the work of Committee as it helped them undo colonial nomenclature. “We are pleased that we have our name Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. We tried to give the right to lead Pakistan to non-Muslim Pakistanis but this was unsuccessful too. Finally, we were unable to introduce progressive taxation under the constitution. Despite the shortcoming the Eighteenth Amendment remains a milestone in the constitutional history of the country,” he said.During the second session a veteran human rights activist, Mr. I. A. Rehman attributed the strength of Pakistani federalism to the diversity of cultures and languages. He said that these were the provinces that made Pakistan and not vice versa. “The provinces are not subjects of the center but are the federating coordinates and that a strong federation does not mean a strong center. A strong federation is made of strong federating units with some powers as agreed by all lying with the center”. Mr. Rehman also said that all the democratic movements in Pakistan were inspired by the democratic movements steered by the federating units.Among other who expressed their views on the occasion include: Jami Chandio, Hussain Naqi, and Aqeel Abbas Jafri. All the speakers while appreciated the role played by the Reform Committee also urged the civil society organizations to play their role. All the participants stressed the need for an initiative that could make people aware of their constitutional rights. It was unanimously agreed that the ultimate responsibility for the safeguard and implementation of the constitution lied with the civil society. This is where the Center for Civic Education comes in.Defining the role of the Center for Civic Education (CCE) its Executive Director Zafarullah Khan announced the launching of constitutional literacy campaign. He said the Center worked with 20 universities in Pakistan to capacitate young people to stand up for rule of law and governance. “I was shocked to learn that copies of the Constitution are not available in many libraries. Secondly, most of the websites according to our web watch do not offer up-dated versions. So we have printed the copies of constitution which we will share with all universities and press clubs and the other individuals who are interested”. He also said that the Center had prepared a small booklet about citizens’ fundamental rights keeping in view the difficulty for the people who have no legal background.