ISLAMABAD - New chairman of the Senate believes that people, rather than the constitution itself, are the real and ultimate guardians of the state, its constitution and the institutions –including the parliament.
Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani however feels a need to inculcate in public the sense of ownership towards the democratic institutions by making them efficient and more relevant with the public life. With this aim in mind, he had taken a number of initiatives at the Upper House of the Parliament.
In an exclusive interview with The Nation, the senate chairman urged the public to understand that process of democratic evolution is both painstaking and time consuming, but he felt satisfied that country’s democratic institutions have matured enough and a culture of political tolerance is beginning to take roots.
Talking about the role of senate in case of future ‘adventurism’ from any state institution, he observed, “In the light of experience, I have had to alter my thinking. Article 6 (that relates to cases of high treason) in the given structural and constitutional weaknesses has failed to protect and preserve the constitution. I believe that it is the people of Pakistan that are the only saviours, protectors and defenders of the constitution and the parliament.”
But the people would only protect and defend the constitution and democratic institutions when they have a sense of ownership, remarked Rabbani, who rose to the position of senate chairman from a common activist of People’s Student Federation and earned fame for constitutional reforms and social progress.
The new chairman has recently taken a number of initiatives to improve the functioning of the Upper House as well as its secretariat since March 12, 2015, the day he took oath of his office. On his direction, senate secretariat has created a drop box on senate website where the public has been given access to file petitions on the matters of national and urgent public importance.
“I believe that there are weaknesses in the (system of) redressal of public grievances. With this objective and thing in mind, senate secretariat has initiated changes in its Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and adopted a number of new initiatives in the context of Pakistani parliament,” he said. As being practised in the other world, this greater public access creates an openness and transparency and gives a feeling of ownership to the common man and helps lawmakers in addressing some of people’s issues, “as has been done, though admittedly on limited scale, by the public petitions,” he remarked.
“Owing to our conspiratorial political history at the slightest abnormal sea in relations between institutions, we are accustomed to get panicky, and it is a natural reaction. But we must realise that Pakistan’s political process, its institutions and political parties have to an extent come of age; there is a growing understanding that democratic, parliamentary and federation dispensation are the only factors that can now keep the federation united,” he said, adding that as a consequence of this realisation, a culture of political has started to take roots.
“It will take time for democratic, political and parliamentary traditions to mature. There is nothing new. Traditions of the House of Common (in Britain) took hundreds of years,” he said. Pakistan is passing through a very difficult and fragile transition from a dictatorial form of government to a parliamentary dispensation. The transition in itself is difficult and painstaking and thus requests patience and understanding.”
Senate chairman added, “It is not new in this formative stages of this dispensation that offices functioning through or under the constitution should try to occupy space which otherwise constitution or the law may not permit but in the process, this overlapping automatically shrinks and system becomes much more stronger.”
Rabbani, the main brain behind the landmark 18th constitutional amendment that involved devolution of powers from centre to the provinces, is being considered as the strongest chairman in the history of senate owing to his integrity, adherence to discipline as well as rules, and in depth understanding of the constitution and law.
From the very first day as chairman, he introduced discipline in the house – which he calls ‘self-imposed discipline’. He decided to start the house proceedings exactly at the scheduled time and wrote letters to lawmakers in this connection. Members were also asked to follow the rules to ask supplementary questions and stop misuse of Point Of Orders, which are meant for raising issues of public importance.
‘Do not cross the line!’ Any journalist covering senate proceedings would frequently hear these words from the new chairman to lawmakers demonstrating indiscipline. Such words are new for journalists as former chairmen rarely took this much care of order in the house. With his efforts, a tag line - House of Federation - has been added in the senate emblem. He has also given the vision of live web casting of proceedings of senate and its committees.
Rabbani mentioned a number of initiatives the senate has taken under his stewardship to improve the role and functioning of the house. Senate Rules have been amended to provide the conversion of the house into committee (Committee of the Whole House) to debate the issues of national importance with powers to summon any person or record from any ministry or government department.
An attendance register has been placed outside the official gallery for the purpose of marking of attendance by the officials/officers of the ministries and divisions business of which will be on the Orders of the Day. Rabbani has directed that an officer of any ministry not below the level of joint secretary will sit in the galleries to take notes.
Rules have been amended to ensure that ministers concerned shall, after every three months, appear before the house and make reports on all matters referred by the house and recommendations made by its committees. The Senate has also taken an initiative of discussing all such reports in the house as are being laid in the house in pursuance of constitutional requirements. Keeping in view their significance, amended rules have allowed two call attention notices, instead of one, in one sitting. The admissibility of adjournment motions and privileges motions are now determined in the house.
Rabbani says that it has been directed that members should be provided soft copy of questions and their answers through e-mail two hours before the sitting to enable them to go through the same. Similarly, senate secretariat has started providing orders of the day and other parliamentary papers electronically to the members. A special house committee has been constituted to oversee the project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
However, Rabbani says all these initiatives are not individual rather they have been taken with consultation and consensus of Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the House, leaders of all parliamentary parties, the House Business Advisery Committee and the Senate Secretariat.