As originally envisaged in the 1973 Constitution, the office of the President of Pakistan was largely ceremonial. Not so today. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, mainly on account of the government but also by virtue of his own historical profile stands at the apex of power. Consequently, a great deal of responsibility rests upon his shoulders. The system, even as it stands today, cannot afford a partism or capricious President, especially one who owes his position to couple of hundred members of the lower house rather than to the 30 million electorate at large.
The Senate, too, was supposed to be much less powerful or relevant than it is now, not least because its Chairman is only a heart beat away from the Presidency.
Can we therefore review the Presidency and the Senate and say with equanimity that office holders of both institutions have played the role expected to them with due conscientiousness?
Take first the Senate. It is a happy omen indeed that it has survived the buffetings of political misfortune which have afflicted other institutions. Barring the ill-advised private member’s Shariat Bill which threatens to usurp the powers of the National Assembly, the Senate remains a useful sounding board for legislation and scrutiny. That is its proper function, and that it what it should confine itself to, no more. Mr Wasim Sajjad has done a good job. We should count ourselves lucky if he is able to continue as Chairman of this body.
Take now, President Ishaq Khan. We might begin by counting his blessings. Mr Khan has kept the brass at bay on more than one tricky occasions. First, in 1988, after the demise of Zia ul Haq when many politicians weren’t too keen on elections and would have been perfectly agreeable to a Majlis Shoora type of arrangement with a new dictator. In truth, few can complain about his neutrality and fairness in conducting free elections in 1988 and affecting a fair transfer of power to Benazir Bhutto.
Then again last year when the PPP made a royal mess of Sindh and foolishly precipitated a showdown with the army. If Mr Khan had so chosen, we might today be living under martial law. Finally, a month ago when his judicious intervention probably prevented a prickly army chief from jumping the gun and sending Parliament home.
The other side of Mr Khan’s face, however, is less than attractive. Notwithstanding some silly pin-pricks by Bhutto, Mr Khan’s conduct leading up to and during the no-confidence move against the former premier was questionable. If he had chosen to dampen the spirits of the COPpers rather than appearing to condone them, we might have been spared the unsavoury innovation of horse-=trading, kidnapping and the enforced holidaying in Murree and Swat that ensued. And if today, his hand-picked Chief Minister of Sindh shamelessly packs off his precious cargo of MPs to Bangkok at state expense or impunely arrests, kidnaps, cajoles or bribes, where should we in all honesty look to pin the blame? The President’s charge sheet against Bhutto last August and the anti-horse trading Ordinances appear to get thinner by the month. On this score, at least, his silence bespeaks his intentions and reflects more candidly then all his actions to date.
Further, the President’s decision to boot out Bhutto was probably not half as controversial or ill-conceived as his selection of an interim cabinet which was crooked in the extreme. No wonder, the 1990 elections have left such a bad taste in the mouth. History will doubtless hold Mr Khan partly accountable for this fraud.
Also the Presidential references against Ms Bhutto undermine Mr Khan’s credibility much more than they do hers. Yet, the pathetic facade continues, at state expense of course. Not content with mocking the very process of democratic opposition he is supposed to protect, Mr Khan sees nothing amiss in the reign of terror unleashed by his less than charming Chief Minister in Sindh. And to what end? So that every single squeak of dissent is muzzled?
In order to redress his own balance sheet and set the democratic process solidly on the rails again, the President could dismantle some of the more grave injustices against the leader of the tiny opposition, Ms Benazir Bhutto, and allow her to function with honour and dignity. What is also left now is to see Gen Beg safely off, as per the rules, and instal another General in his place who will also respect the rules of democracy. If Mr Khan abides by the criteria of experience, professionalism and seniority, the choice is obvious enough.
With Mian Nawaz Sharif as PM, Mr Wasim Sajjad as Chairman of the Senate, and Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua as COAS, we might just make it without too many hiccups.