Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan, Senator Sirajul Haq has moved a Bill in the Senate seeking an amendment in the constitution making it obligatory for the State and its institutions to implement the constitution and the law in totality and their true spirit.
According to copy of the bill made available to this scribe, The Bill, to be called Constitutional Amendment Bill 2016, suggests an amendment in article 5 to the effect that the failure of the State and its institutions in total compliance of the constitution and the law would be deemed to be "disobedience of the constitution and the law." The amendment moved in article 6 of the constitution suggests that the indifference or inattention of any individual, the State or any State Institution on this score would be deemed to be High Treason and would attract all the existing provisions of article 6 of the constitution.
The aims and objectives of the proposed amendment include brining all laws in harmony with the Holy Quran and the Sunnah as laid down in the article 227(10 in order to build Pakistan a true Islamic Democratic State by bringing all laws besides adoption of Urdu as national language under article 251, and the Supreme Court judgement.
The Bill states that all functionaries of the State including the President, the Prime Minister, federal and provincial ministers, governors, and chief ministers of provinces had been taking oath pledging total and faithful compliance of the constitution and the law, and to defend and uphold the constitution according to their ability. It pointed out that had all these state functionaries been discharging their duties faithfully and in the spirit of the constitution, the country would not have been facing the present situation.
It also referred to the article two of the constitution and the Objectives Resolution laying down that the terms of democracy, equality, tolerance, valour, justice, etc would be interpreted in the light of the Shariah and all the Muslims would be enabled to mould their lives, both individual and collective, in accordance with the Islamic teachings.
The amendment refers to a print media report based on the findings of the Islamic Ideological Council, according to which around seven hundred federal and provincial laws were not in harmony with the Quran and the Sunnah but neither the Parliament nor the provincial assembly had tried to review them.