ISLAMABAD    -    Former Chairman Senate and ruling PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani on Monday came down hard on both the coalition gov­ernment in the centre and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for allegedly violating the Constitution while in power.

He further said that the Con­stitution has ‘become a joke’ between both of them. “It is an irony of history that the PTI, the gravest civilian violator of the Constitution of 1973, should today talk of defending it,” said Senator Rabbani while talking to a select group of journalists here.

At the same time, he said that the violation of the Constitution by the coalition government is also ‘condemned.’ The Supreme Court has fixed May 14 as the polls date for holding of general elections in Punjab – an apex court order that is being continu­ously defied by the federal gov­ernment of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of ruling parties. PTI blames that the PML-N led government was com­mitting violation of the Constitu­tion by not releasing required funds for the conduct of election.

PPP stalwart Rabbani said that the last PTI government had vio­lated the Constitution many times on different occasions. He said that the last government of for­mer prime minister Imran Khan had been legislating through the promulgation of ordinances, in contravention of Article 89 of the Constitution. “It circumvented the constitutional right of the parliament to legislate,” he said. He added that then ruling party had appointed two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in violation of the rules, law and Constitution. It re-promulgated the PMDC (Paki­stan Medical & Dental Council) Ordinance, which the Senate had rejected through a constitutional resolution under Article 89 of Constitution, he underlined.

The seasoned politician went on to say that then PTI gov­ernment had filed a reference against SC Judge Justice Qazi Faez Esa, without the applica­tion of the mind and the require­ments under the law and the Constitution. The same was dis­missed by the Court.

“Then PTI government with­drew the prosecution team in a case of high treason under Ar­ticle 6 of Constitution against former military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.”

Senator Rabbani said that PTI violated Article 54 of the Consti­tution when then speaker Na­tional Assembly deliberately did not summon within 14 days the Assembly so that a resolution of no confidence could not be moved against the then prime minister under Article 95.

The deputy speaker gave a ruling in violation of the Con­stitution on the motion of no confidence against the premier, which was later declared uncon­stitutional by the apex court.

On the basis of the unconsti­tutional ruling, then prime min­ister Khan advised the Presi­dent Dr Arif Alvi to dissolve the NA under Article 95 and conse­quently the latter acting on such “unconstitutional” advice did so. “Such advice and dissolution was declared unconstitutional by the SC and the Assembly was restored, he added.

He reminded that the speaker and the government defied the order of the apex court and the command of the Constitution and continued to refuse a vote on the no confidence motion, till the former did not resign.

He further said that the last PTI government violated Article 160 of the Constitution by not announcing the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.