The law is very specific with the options for the Head of State to return legislation back to Parliament/National Assembly with questions, if he or she wishes to do so, within a time frame of ten days, as stipulated within a botched constitution.
The President of Pakistan tweeted, that these options were availed, but rather he was undermined by his “staff”. Thus, apologizing for any effect the laws would have. The Ministers claim they weren’t informed of any resistance to the new amendments, specifically towards the Army Act, and The Official Secrets Act.
The fascination behind all these claims is who was the daring individual, who undermined the Head of State. Is it possible for a member of staff to make decisions without the President’s knowledge and introduce laws? This is a Pandora’s box of its own. Questions spew out of this situation:
How many times has this happened before?
Who has such authority, that without being a signatory, he/she becomes able to pass the law
“undermining” the sitting President?
Why is he apologizing? Is he aware of how these laws will be manipulated? Misused?
Too many gaping holes within one situation.
The Chronicle had covered in its first edition that the Official Secrets Act would be misused (Diplomacy – A Negative State of Affairs). Clearly, President Alvi believes so too. His position was to delay the law in whatever constitutional matter possible, to disallow the amendments from becoming law, as he was too well aware of the game at hand.
The reality of it all is the sheer audacity, to be so openly incompetent and corrupt. Not one man, but the whole machinery. To be so evidently, and disgustingly pathetic in their affairs. Treating national politics, personal enmity, and personal gains, so openly and so childishly. This is an equivalent of what students at a Primary School would do, when the teacher asks for their homework: excuses, lies, and blames. Although those children who are of such character, rarely see the position that the children who in Pakistan become Ministers, do.
The greatest nuisance of it all is the inability to strike back. These laws will be used to strengthen certain individuals, one establishment, and the destruction of one individual who has now garnered a cult following.
My advice is very simple, learn from history. History has dictated these situations before. If one man is constantly struck, openly, illegally, and irrationally, he will become an ideology and ruin the lives of everyone to come after. The sad truth as this may be, the only hope is, that the citizens of the greatest engineering, economic, and social failure – Pakistan, may at least do justice to their role, and disallow all that goes wrong.
[Editor]
