This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “A hollow victory” carried by the newspaper yesterday. The write-up, without doubt, has analyzed the situation in a highly objective manner; for which the writer, Rashed Rahman deserves a lot of commendations.

He has concluded his argument by saying that “In this tussle between the executive and the judiciary, with the establishment hiding not so successfully behind the skirts of the former, there are no innocents. Their misdemeanours of the past and present have brought us to this sorry pass.

The whole story reeks of the sad conclusion that we have no idea how to build or defend institutions, only a rare talent for destroying them.” His conclusion appears to be plausible, so to speak.

However, I would like to state that constitution of a country is a living organism; it is also known as the living law of the land as it is transformed according to the requirements of the time and the situation.

The passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, however, is strongly characterized by political expediency than anything else.

Such an approach to constitution or constitutionalism will never augur well for the efforts, if any, aimed at obtaining Jeffersonian democracy in the country. The passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment seems to have contributed to our dangerous march towards constitutional regression.

Sami Mustufa (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024