Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani on Thursday said that Article 6 that declares subversion or abrogation of the Constitution an act of high treason has become 'redundant', putting a big question mark on the existence of parliament and democracy. Rabbani, the principal architect of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, was briefing media persons about the steps taken by the Senate under his chairmanship to strengthen the upper house of parliament by introducing reforms.
He said that any legislation would be an exercise in futility unless the gap between the people and parliament is bridged, adding the need of the hour is that the common man should be given access to the parliament to make him realise that his voice is heard in the "dark power corridors." "The people didn't come forward when political institutions were suspended and political governments toppled," he said, adding, "They will not come forward unless it is ensured that they (masses) are the major stakeholders in the parliament".
In an obvious reference to widening gap between the people and the parliament, he said the parliament must give masses ownership by listening to their problems and resolving their issues instead of keeping them in isolation. In a bid to boost the confidence of people in parliament, he said the Senate has introduced the public petitions for the first time in the country's history, which has proved to be a huge success.
"The public petitions are filed in other democratic countries but it was never done by our parliament despite their importance... when we started the process, we received a large number of public petitions [and] we're planning more such reforms," he added.
The upper house of parliament which was thought to be a debating club, is gradually being transformed into a powerful institution as Rabbani, who took over as chairman in March, has introduced a number of reforms to bring the house at par with the National Assembly.
Rabbani said proper rules were made besides some changes in the rules of business of the Senate which will help in strengthening the house without making it dependent on individuals. He said that it had been ensured that the government ministers would be bound to implement the orders passed by the chair and report back to the house within three months about the progress reports on matters raised by the lawmakers in the house on issues of public importance.
The chairman Senate also inaugurated the new website of Senate where all the details of the senators' salaries, reports of the standing committees, and other relevant information would be updated properly - a new precedent quite rare in government departments. The perks and privileges being enjoyed by the senators will also be updated on its website. The attendance of the lawmakers during Senate sessions as well as in standing committee meetings will also be regularly updated on Senate's website, he said, adding steps were taken to ensure institution building and institutional accountability, which he hoped, would be carried forwards by his successors.
The Senate chairman further stated that some more reforms, which include parliamentary education, internship schemes, and empowering Senate, will be introduced by September or October. He emphasised that institutional linkage between the provincial assemblies, which elect senators, and the Senate, should be done to strengthen the federation.
Sectary Senate Amjed Pervez attributed all the achievements, which the house earned within a short span of few months, to the chairman Senate, saying without his support, achieving a milestone would not have been possible. He appreciated the work done by his secretariat staff in constructing the website without hiring any IT expert from outside.
Rabeea Anwar, deputy secretary Senate, was all praise for Senate chairman especially for the measures that he has taken to boost the morale of the staff by resolving their problems such as transportation, accommodation, late-sitting, reserving job quota for the low-grade employees, etc Besides taking a number of measures for the welfare of Senate staff, Rabeea said that he is the only chairman, who listens to the complaints of the staff on every Monday - a unique precedent set by any Senate chairman - the second in the line of succession to the president of Pakistan.
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