I am a beneficiary of Pakistan. Whatever I have achieved or acquired is because of Pakistan. Therefore, if I sound Jazbati or emotional, you will please excuse me.

There is a lot of despondency and despair visible in Pakistan and it is not without any basis. Most of the people I meet are deeply concerned and ask me what is happening and what is going to happen. The very fact that such a question is being put makes me unhappy. Let me start from the beginning to understand the present. Constitution is the ‘Rooh of a nation’ and an independent Judiciary is its heart.

One view is that the best judge is the chief justice. While the other is that seniority must prevail in appointment of judges. These differences can always be resolved, if not by past precedents, by laying down new precedents, which eliminate discrimination – the mother of all evils.

That, however, is not the end of the matter, for we have larger problems affecting the people of Pakistan as a whole. Some people say that nearly two years have passed and we do not see any ray of hope. No doubt people have a right to be impatient. After all we have denied them their right to good governance for decades and they have, therefore, right to be impatient. They want results, promised by the leaders. They are demanding their long denied rights. We must try and appreciate their impatience.

Some people say that most of these problems would not have arisen, if Mr Zardari had not been the President of Pakistan. Irrespective of its truth or otherwise, the fact remains that election of Mr Zardari as President was, if not unconstitutional, against the spirit of the Constitution. A president is president of Pakistan. He represents the unity of the nation. He should not belong to, much less be leader of, a political party, which is effectively in power. Furthermore, there is talk of balance of power between the president and the prime minister. This negates the 1973 Constitution and gives an impression that 17th Amendment is not altogether irrelevant. The 17th Amendment must go. Look at the problems created in Punjab by the discretionary power used by the president in appointing – to say the least, not so independent governor. The concurrent list must go immediately to empower the provinces. These are not new demands, they have already been agreed to by the premier parties including the most respected Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto that these amendments, introduced by General Musharraf, should be eliminated from the Constitution. Why have these amendments been linked to other amendments which are controversial which has resulted in inordinate delay. It is said that the requisite majority in the National Assembly is not available. If these amendments are immediately introduced, we will know, who stands where and we will be able to distinguish between democrats and so-called democrats.

Our experience, past and immediate present, require following steps to be taken:-

1. Open government. A new freedom of Information Act with meaningful provisions. Open government equally for the benefit of government for there will be no room for unfounded allegations against the government;

2. A general amnesty to all Pakistanis, more particularly the holders of public office and their dependents to bring back all their foreign assets within a specified time and failure to do so to result in punishment, minimum 15-year rigorous imprisonment;

3. No out of turn promotion, seniority to be respected.

4. Military to be treated like any other departments of government with no right to carry on any business, not connected with military requirements.

5. No allotment of plots to holders of public office;

6. Holders of public office to be given locally assembled cars;

7. Re-introduction of Wealth Tax;

8. Re-introduction of Capital Gains Tax;

9. Compulsory voting;

10. Defamation Law (Section 500 PPC) to be restored, amendments made by Zia to be deleted;

11. No extension in service;

12. Visible reduction in Govt. expenditure. All information relating to expenditure made available to the public;

13. Cabinet to consist of no more than 15 Ministers;

14. Minimum foreign trips;

15. No leader in exile;

16. No ostentatious living;

17. Every holder of public office to file copies of their income tax returns to which every citizen will have access with liberty to raise objections;

18. FBR to publish list of all tax payers, occupation or profession wise.

19. Discretionary funds to be disclosed including how the same is spent;

20. Since people have been deprived of their right to vote for too long, the life of their assemblies should be four years instead of five years.

21. No nominated woman’s seat in the National Assembly. Women seats to be filled in by the female voters with liberty to women to contest general seats.

22. Genuine autonomy to institutions;

23. Equal compulsory education to all to be achieved within a specified time;

24. Expenditure incurred on holders of public office to be disclosed from time to time, not less than once a year;

25. Duty of the government to provide gainful employment and necessities of life at reasonable prices; A time to be specified within which this obligation will be performed;

The aforesaid suggestions are not new. It is equally known that good governance is possible only if the government implements above suggestions. Government expenditure to be reduced to the minimum to enable achievement of above objectives.

The aforesaid suggestions are made in all humility. It is my considered view that since we have denied these rights for so long while the rich have become richer, the delay in its implementation will only augment our problems and Pakistan will have lost its meaning – just a dot on World Atlas.

It is the duty of the press and the civil society to press for realization of the above demands. At least there should be effective think tanks, who can analyse the aforesaid demands with a view to its possible implementation at the earliest.

We can no longer afford to remain silent. In the past we have done no more than ‘Tabla Bajana’. Now is the time to carry out our inviolable duty to obey the Constitution, as provided in Article-5 of the Constitution and insist upon the government to take serious note of Article-38 of the Constitution.

By: Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, Karachi