Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday congratulated the nation over the end of what he called 'dictatorship', terming the resignation of the President as victory of the democracy and democratic forces.
He was speaking in the National Assembly where he said that today the Parliament has become sovereign and supreme for which the democratic forces have rendered a significant sacrifices for the last many years. The Prime Minister said today there is rule of law and supremacy of the constitution and Parliament as dictatorship no more exists.
Gilan said people rendered sacrifices for strengthening of the institutions, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press and democracy. He vowed to strengthen the institutions and following the policy of national reconciliation in a bid to address the challenges being faced by the country.
The Prime Minister said he was jailed during the tenure of the last government but he is not bitter and wants beginning of reconciliation and forgive those who had jailed him. He said we want to have a Truth and Reconciliation committee.
Gilani said that his party was against 17th Amendment and Article 58/2(B) of the constitution and would not accept them and never considered them as legal and legitimate.
He said they want balance of powers between presidency and the parliament as there is a parliamentary form of government in Pakistan and authority should vest in the Parliament. "Now we can say with proud that we have a pure democracy and believe in the supremacy of the Parliament", he remarked.
"This is the fruit of the sacrifices of the people and politicians who faced numerous hardships for the supremacy of the Parliament and rule of the law", he said and referred to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, her exile as well as exile of Nawaz Sharif. He said that Benazir sacrificed her life for the democracy and never compromised on the principles.
The Prime Minister said there should be differentiate between accountability and victimisation and accountability should be maintained without political victimisation. Gilani said he has instructed the Law Minister to initiate legislation to make National Accountability Bureau a neutral and fair institution.
The Prime Minister also asked Speaker of the National Assembly to strengthen the Public Accounts Committee and Standing Committees of the house and members should be answerable to them.
The Prime Minister also stressed on the need for a neutral and independent election commission to conduct free, fair and transparent elections, saying that the Election Commission should be strong enough to challenge even the election of the Prime Minister in his constituency if needed. The Prime Minister said the President being symbol of the federation he should not be aligned with any political party.
He underscored that that the country was facing serious challenges, mainly the economic and the law and order challenges, seeking the co-operation of the opposition and other democratic forces to joint hands with the government in tackling them effectively. The Prime Minister thanked political leaders, political parties, media and other sections of the society for their struggle for restoration of democracy.
In her remarks Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza said it is a momentous occasion in the history of Pakistan. She also highlighted the responsibility of parliamentarians and politicians to prove that they can handle the problems facing by the country and can deliver as per wishes of the masses. Dr Fehmida said that politicians could produce better results through collective efforts.
Comments
Comments are closed.