Pakistan: Golden Jubilee of Constitution should be celebrated at national level

This year, 50 years of the unanimously approved constitution of Pakistan in 1973 has been completed and accordingly, Pakistan People's Party Karachi Division celebrated the golden jubilee of this event in the Sindh Assembly. The Constitution of 1973 is in many respects the representative of the aspirations of the majority of Pakistanis and it is undoubtedly a document that can be used as a basis to solve most of the problems of Pakistan even today. On the one hand, the constitution talks about strengthening the federation, on the other hand, it strengthens the provinces by giving them powers. Apart from this, by declaring the Qur'an and Sunnah as the basis of legislation, the Constitution also decides that Pakistan is an ideological state, so all its affairs will be decided within the limits set by the Qur'an and Sunnah.

For more than a quarter of a century before the 1973 Constitution, we had no document that all the units of the state could agree on. That is why the clauses in the constitutions of 1956 and 1962 were unable to guide us completely regarding all the affairs and problems of the state. One of the main problems associated with the constitutions of 1956 and 1962 was that these two documents could not give any satisfactory answer regarding the balance of powers between the various units of the state, which resulted in coordination between the federation and the provinces. There seemed to be a lack of atmosphere. Due to this imbalance of power, the units of the state were constantly unhappy with each other. The 1973 constitution sought to strike a balance through consensus that would help bridge the gap and bring the state units closer together.

The deficiencies that were left in the constitution half a century ago have been filled with the passage of time through various amendments and this process continues till now. Why was the full implementation not possible? There were two occasions during the same period when General Muhammad Ziaul Haq in 1977 and General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 seized power by suspending the constitution and despite the existence of Article 6 of the constitution, both military dictators ruled without fear for a decade. The blacks and whites of the country remained the masters. It is also a fact that these two military dictators also got political elements who paved the way for them to stay in power and due to their actions the constitution was badly violated.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founding leader of Pakistan People's Party, played an important role in the formation of the 1973 constitution and he was the most affected by the violation of this constitution. On Sunday, when the current head of PPP and grandson of Zulfiqar Bhutto, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari participated in the golden jubilee ceremony of the Constitution held in the Sindh Assembly, he said that the Constitution of 1973 is the trust of Bhutto Shaheed. Ever since the constitution was made, attempts have been made to rob it. He said that the constitution of Pakistan is an agreement between the state and the citizens. We made the constitution and we will save it. Addressing the event, Bilawal Zardari further said that the forces that break the constitution will not tolerate that the people get their rights, as long as we continue to fight with each other, someone else will continue to take advantage.

Bilawal Zardari is correct in saying that the name of the string that binds the state and its citizens is the constitution. It is essential that the constitution is fully implemented for the proper functioning of the state and democratic institutions and the delivery of their rights to the people. If we are really serious about solving the national problems, then all the political forces inside and outside the parliament must agree that under no circumstances will the violation of the constitution be tolerated and no such action will be accepted. It is against the constitution. With the same determination, the golden celebration of the constitution should be celebrated at the national level because this constitution is not for a party or a group but for the whole of Pakistan.