Hanibal they have to be condemned not because they are mohajirs, but because they have no respect for law, and are criminals of highest order and if law of the land is applied impartially they will be hanged to death…it’s only by chance that all these criminals are mohajirs…they could have been from any other ethnicity also…but law remains uniform for everyone…
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=15421
Law ministry’s rare advice to keep nation united
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The law ministry, before Farooq H Naek became the minister, had advised the government that ruthless enforcement of Article 6 of the Constitution to bring adventurers, their cronies and collaborators, living or dead, to justice was a must to keep the nation united.
This rare but confidential advice of the law ministry was given to the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Division of the cabinet secretariat two days before the ascertainment of Makhdoom Yousuf Raza Gilani as the leader of the house by the National Assembly on the issue of provincial autonomy.
**“Only faithful observance of the provisions of the Constitution and awareness and eternal vigilance of the civil society to assert and protect and obey the Constitution can ensure and preserve the provincial autonomy,” the law ministry said in its detailed note.
It added: “Further ruthless enforcement of Article 6 of the Constitution, the High Treason Punishment Act, 1973 (LVIII of 1973) [F/T] in accordance with the provision of the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Courts) Act, 1976 (XVIII of 1976) and bringing adventurers, their cronies and collaborators, living or dead, to justice in sine qua non for maintaining the provincial autonomy and only a vibrant Constitution can respond to the aspirations of the people and keep the nation united.”**
This unique advice, containing the signatures of the highest law ministry authorities, has now apparently been dumped. During the present regime, it was referred by the IPC Division to a private law practitioner, an initiative which the law ministry did not appreciate.
The law ministry pointed out on April 2 that the communication made and opinion tendered by the ministry was confidential and was meant only for inter-divisional guidance. The law ministry’s advice coincides with the demand of the PML-N, the lawyers’ fraternity and certain sections of the civil society, including some ex-servicemen.
It, however, is in conflict with the PPP, which wants to give a safe exit to President Musharraf once he vacates the presidency. Sources in the IPC Division told this correspondent that it had approached the law ministry, seeking the latter’s views on the draft package on provincial autonomy.
The then IPC secretary, Sohail Safdar, wrote to the law ministry, which was not convinced with the government’s effort to ensure provincial autonomy by removing the concurrent legislative list from the Constitution.
“It has become a fashion to gain popularity by saying that deletion of certain subjects from the concurrent legislative list will ensure provincial autonomy. It seems till to date not a single law has been passed by the provinces on the subjects enumerated in the concurrent legislative list, though the power to legislate vests in the provinces by virtue of paragraph (b) of Article 142 of the Constitution,” the law ministry observed in its note, adding mere deletion of some subjects from the concurrent legislative list would not resolve the matter.
It said upholding the Constitution and punishing those who had abrogated it would help maintain the provincial autonomy. The law ministry said the Indian constitution also contained a concurrent list containing 47 entries. The Indian constitution, the ministry said, also gives parliament the exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in the concurrent legislative list and such powers include the power to make any law imposing a tax not enumerated in either of these lists.
“In India, it can be inferred that there is no issue of provincial autonomy because their politicians, civil society, armed forces and all concerned have learnt to respect and abide by the Constitution in letter and spirit,” reads the law ministry’s note available with The News.
The law ministry argued the Constitution of Pakistan gave far more autonomy to the provinces by giving them power to legislate on all matters not enumerated in the federal legislative list or the concurrent legislative list.
It simultaneously provides the provincial assembly the authority to legislate on subjects falling in the concurrent legislative list. It has also been provided that with regard to the concurrent legislative list, subject executive authority vests in the provinces. The law ministry, terming the IPC Division’s draft package on provincial autonomy “cosmetic changes”, said such a package would not serve the purpose.