Confusion prevails over the definition of state (Riasat). Perhaps Pakistan is the only country in the world that was forced to formulate four constitutions (1956, 1962, 1972, 1973).
On August 14, 1973, after the promulgation of the unanimously approved constitution it was widely believed that the colonial era was over. The Government of India Act 1935 passed by the British Parliament and the several acts before should have been declared void and dead for all times to come.
But unfortunately, the colonial state survived together with its outdated laws to control and harass the subjects. In the United States of America (USA), there was total disconnect with the past. Everything colonial was looked down upon and shunned.
They never sought membership of the British Commonwealth of nations, even decided to drive on the right side of the road instead of left. The constitution passed in 1787 reigns supreme; no one can dare to cross the line not even the directly elected President who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
After the WW II, General Douglas MacArthur emerged as a war hero. Harry Truman was considered a weak President, but he ordered the dropping of the nuclear bomb on Japan to contain the Japanese onslaught.
The General wanted the same treatment for Korea which the President refused. To corner the boss, MacArthur openly started to criticize him. The President not only fired MacArthur but also used derogatory words against him. The General sheepishly left the country to settle in Australia where he lived till the end of the term of the President.
In the decades of the sixties President Richard Nixon was facing impeachment by the Congress. General Alexander Haig as Chief of Staff of the White House, suggested to the President to declare emergency as the Supreme Commander and send the Congress home.
Instead, the President decided to step down. He went home after seeking Presidential Pardon for the break-in into the Democratic Party headquarters. While Nixon was the first President to resign, Gerald Ford was the first non-elected President to lead the nation. The constitution prevailed despite the ill-advice of the General.
The delay in constitution formulation in the early years after independence hurt us badly. Finally, when the first constitution was passed in 1956, the left-over colonial state had gained strength. President Major General (Hon) Sikander Mirza and General Ayub Khan, both graduates of the Imperial Sandhurst Military Academy, conspired against the constitution.
It was abrogated in October 1958 followed by the first Martial Law. Ayub Khan took control within days, Mirza sent into forced exile to London where he lived and perished never to set foot again on his motherland. He now rests in peace in Tehran. Ayub Khan forced his 1962 constitution on the nation. Unfortunately, when the crunch time came, he did not follow his own manuscript and handed over power to the Army Chief. Rest is history as they say. General Yayha Khan ruled under a ‘Legal Framework Order’.
After the break-up of Jinnah’s Pakistan when Bhutto replaced the General he took oath as President and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA). Finally, the 1972 interim constitution was passed, and Martial Law ended. A lot of hard work went into the formulation and then consensus of the 1973 permanent version.
The US Constitution is hailed as the Miracle of Philadelphia, the Pakistan constitution is also a hallmark legislation painfully crafted by a genuinely elected parliament elected through the only free and fair elections held in 1970.
A new democratic state should have been born on August 14, 1973, with the burial of the ‘Colonial Ashes ‘ but unfortunately it did not happen. The document is desecrated and abused daily. The continuation of the ‘Colonial State’ seems highly improbable.
The verdict of the people must prevail as it did in 1970. Restoration of the 1956 constitution could have saved the Republic. Today strict adherence to the 1973 document can keep us together as a unified nation. A constitution is an agreement between the rulers and the ruled.
The state of Pakistan must be redefined under the constitution.
Civilized nations respect and follow the dictates of the ballot; those who do not either stagnate like Burma or perish like Yugoslavia. Without adherence to the constitution no nation has survived. Jinnah’s Pakistan has been dismembered once; lessons must be learnt to save what remains. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan belongs to the people who have constituted a democratic state under the 1973 constitution.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024)