Everyday, in the words of columnist Shafqat Mehmood, we wake up to a new rumor. We are told that planes are coming in to take a “significant family of Rawalpindi” abroad. Then there is talk of the Constitutional package that will clip Presidential wings or perhaps not. Another rumour is about Zardari-Nawaz strategizing not to impeach the President but to pressurize him so that he resigns on his own and then Zardari to become the President for ` greater national good .”
The news about the Constitutional package and Zardari thinking of becoming the President just does not gel, in our opinion. Are we expected to believe that Zardari through the Constitutional package will curtail the Presidential Office powers and then become the President? Either news about the Zardari Presidential aspirations is incorrect or the proposed Constitutional packages will not clip the Presidential wings.
Speaking of packages, Senator Raza Rabbani has proposed a package. The package proposes that the Governor of a Province must be a “permanent resident ” This is essential and good news for Balochistan as the Province has had Governors who are not even from the Province. Balochistanis express their confusion as to why the other Provinces are not blessed with such “foreign governors”
The package , upholds freedom of speech, when it proposes that “fair comment” after the expiry of period of limitation of appeal on a court’s sentence , be allowed.
The package also proposes that individuals with dual nationalities should be barred from becoming members of the Parliament. This, in our opinion, should be re-visited because it violates the political rights of such individuals. If the Pakistani state allows for holding dual nationalities then how can it bar those individuals from exercising their political rights of contesting elections ?