Daily Times

KARACHI: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Saturday said he was committed to the safe and sound recovery of missing persons.

“As the head of the prime body I could not fulfill this task,” he said this while addressing participants of a seminar on ‘Importance of Constitutional Role’ held at Bahria University.

During successive peoples’ elected governments, not a single case of missing person had been on the record, he asserted.

“This act is tantamount to state within the state,” he remarked.

During dictatorial regimes, incidents of “missing person” were cropped out and on the contrary under democratic system, every citizen is being treated equally, Rabbani said.

Democratic society never allows state within state and not a single case has been reported in this pretext.

Rabbani refuted the rumours for demanding a presidential form of government in the country.

“The main objective of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in creation of Pakistan had been aimed for a welfare state, but we have ignored the footprint and the ideology of father of the nation,” he lamented.

“Law against corruption should be across the board and in a singular form to make accountable even the military,” he opined.

He said, “Democratic system works under the constitution of the country. The system that was handed over to the nation by Quaid-e-Azam has now been completely changed.”

“I am proud to be a political worker but politicians have always been propagated adversely on corruption,” he remarked.

“The aspiration of Quaid-e-Azam for creation of Pakistan as a welfare state but we are not following according to our main aim of a welfare state. Unfortunately, things have never been taking course in accordance to the spirit of Pakistan’s ideology and are still contradictory,” he added.

Pakistan does not need a presidential form of government as Quaid-e-Azam remained a staunch campaigner of parliamentary system of government and there is a dire need for a true democratic system, he opined.

“Former dictator Gen Ziaul Haq brought changes in the constitution of the country on his will. Resultantly under his regime student organizations, trade unions and intellectuals and literary bodies had never been allowed to function.”

“Coffee house culture has been closed down and on the other hand hard liner religious groups had been given freedom.”

The Senate chairman assured the participants of the seminar that activities of student organisations would be soon restored in the country.

“Interestingly, in our curriculum there are only eight arguments in favour of democratic government but 11 arguments in favour of martial law and military regimes. After 18th Amendment provinces have started receiving rights but at the same time he regretted by saying that no any provincial government has given priority to education and health sectors.”

The Senate of Pakistan has already taken notice of clause of plea bargaining of National Accountability Bureau as the bureau has not been able to curb corruption, he added.