Constitutional Reforms Archive

Military takeoever and 18th amendment – by Pejamistri: One of the funniest question asked on Facebook the other day, not by a common man living somewhere in remote village of Dera Ghazi Khan, but by a very informed blogger, social activist and highly educated person living in

For upholding the Constitution, Prime Minister Gillani gets convicted! – by Farhad Jarral: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has just convicted an elected Prime Minister for following an explicit Constitutional clause (Article 248 (2)) – on the basis of an Ordinance passed by a military dictator, General Musharaf (Contempt of Court Ordinance 2004) – who

Immunity of the President and Nawaz Sharif’s IQ – by Ali Raja: “Immunity of The President will be decided by the Court.” Nawaz Sharif Mr. Nawaz Sharif has uttered these words in the midst of the Government/Judiciary fall out. His IQ seems to be too low for a leader. He has

ANP and women legislators: Awami national party is the only political party in Pakistan, which doesn’t has a separate women wing unlike other mainstream political parties of Pakistan. The another important fact worth mentioning is that only two female members who were part of historic constitutional

FATA, overlooked, ignored – by Riaz Toori: First published in Express Tribune Blogs Sixty three years have gone by but Pakistan could neither bring FATA in the mainstream of the country, politically or constitutionally nor improved the life of common man there. Twenty first century’s innovations,

Is the Koran a constitution? – by Dr. Abbas Zaidi: One of our dearest friends, writer and intellectual Dr. Abbas Zaidi has on the LUBP team’s request, exclusively written this well argued piece for our readers. I on behalf of LUBP am grateful to him for sharing his efforts with us, and

Presence of Mehmood Khan Achakzai in the Presidential Address: It was really heartening to see Mehmood Khan Achkzai sitting in VIP gallery of the parliament listening to the Presidential address. Although his party boycotted 2008 general election but his senators were a part of the Constitutional reforms committee.

Asif Zardari: The sudden hero – By Nadeem Paracha: The historic passage of the 18th Amendment Bill in the current National Assembly is rightly being paired with the country’s first ‘Constitutional revolution’ i.e. the making and passage of the 1973 Constitution during the government of the country’s first

The 18th amendment and the concurrent list! – by Cyril Almeida: It seems that the fear of a big, powerful, overreaching federal government has driven political parties from the smaller provinces to do the only thing that seems obvious: cut its powers. ISLAMABAD: Bye-bye concurrent list, we never even got

Kudos all around – by Kamran Shafi: First to Raza Rabbani who has been the target of many barbs from me in the days that the People’s Party was making, and breaking in quick succession, promises to restore the judiciary. They were aimed at him, first

Ansar Abbasi’s “Truth” Problem: Cross-posted from Pakistan Media Watch Just this week I posted about Jang Group’s problem with facts. Now, as if to prove my point, Ansar Abbasi writes an article filled with so many problems and errors that it’s hard to keep

Removing the only good thing Zia-ul Haq added to the Constitution!: Yasser Latif Hamdani at Pak Tea House blog has pointed out a terrible omission in the 18th Amendment Bill [PDF]. If you look on page 93 of the document, you can see that Article 91 is being amended back

18th Amendment, Na Manzoor: From Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa to Karachi, from Lahore to Gilgit-Baltistan and from Larkana to Queta, the entire nation is celebrating the parliamentary consensus on the proposed 18th amendment in Pakistan’s constitution. Constitutional experts and parliamentarians belonging to diverse ethnic and

Negativity unlimited: Ansar Abbasi’s reaction to the Constitutional Package: Agents of dark forces (establishment, Taliban, right wing) are as usual busy in spreading mischief and disinformation in the land of the pure. Ansar Abbasi, a key leader of Pakistani Taliban Union of Journalists (PTUJ), has recently written two

Thank you, Senator Raza Rabbani – by Farhad Jarral: A great job has been done by Senator Raza Rabbani, head of the Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Reforms. Well done, representatives of all political parties. This is the fruit which the nation was eagerly looking forward to for the

Constitutional Reforms: A victory of democracy – by Ayaz Amir: Thank God for small mercies Islamabad diary This could have been a wrecking moment, another corrosive chapter in a history not given to too many bright moments. But if the worst did not happen, and if disaster was averted,

Ameerul Momineen Nawaz Sharif respected the judiciary once – by Saeed Minhas: ISLAMABAD: Ministers disclosing the misdeeds of their colleagues, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ordering a probe into the shabby deals of cabinet members coupled with the twinge of the judiciary and arm-twisting of political players remains the order of

Nawaz’s crowning glory – Fasi Zaka: Nawaz Sharif has finally achieved what no one has been able to do in politics for the past two years, which is to make Asif Ali Zardari’s PPP look good by comparison. He inadvertently whitewashed them when he decided

Qazi Anwar’s vilification crusade against politicians: Explicit or implicit supporters of military dictatorship in Pakistan, who usually lack significant vote bank in masses and dance to the tunes of right wing establishment, often criticise politicians holding them as solely and predominantly responsible for Pakistan’s failures

Thank you, democracy! NWFP to be renamed as ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’: The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR) has agreed to rename North West Frontier Province (NWFP) with ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ on Wednesday. The PCCR met with its chairman Senator Raza Rabbani of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in chair to end

Understanding Nawaz Sharif – by Amir Mateen: Amir Mateen has recently written a series of extremely interesting and thought provoking articles on Nawaz Sharif and his politics. Amir has in the past written some of the most balanced articles on Pakistani politics, for example, his piece

Views on the constitutional review — by Peter Jacob: The review process has to foresee and incorporate a framework for social, legal and economic reforms. The part that seems to be missing as yet is, in fact, of immense importance for common Pakistanis. It concerns human rights Ever

Nawaz Sharif – No more advice: Nawaz Sharif’s recent U-turn on constitutional reforms has surprised every one. But more astonishing is not his U-turn but his series of advices. Advice :Firstly he asked PM to intervene and talk to Chief Justice to end this crisis. Fact: PM is not

Need a boost, PML-N? They’ll never admit it – by Shafiq Awan: The telltale between British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif over the latter’s U-turn on constitutional reforms made Nawaz blush. Reportedly, Nawaz Sharif demanded assurance from the foreign guarantor that his political survival would not be

A parochial stance – by Murtaza Razvi: Originally Published at DAWN MIAN Nawaz Sharif’s abrupt about-turn on the constitutional amendments that MNAs of his own party hammered out after intense negotiations with their counterparts from other major political parties will be seen as doing little service

Mian Nawaz Sharif, the lion wakes up — by Naeem Tahir: The Sharifs are leading the second largest political party and the largest province. People take them seriously even if they do not take the people or the province or the federation seriously. Let there be no mistake; the people

Nawaz Sharif, a true heir of General Ziaul Haq – by Junaid Qaiser: Mian Nawaz Sharif has, throughout his political career, by and large shown little respect for constitution, parliament and democratic norms and traditions. Because of these ‘virtues’ (lack of respect towards constitution, parliament and democracy), the nation always regarded him

Nawaz Sharif Backtracked – by Sajid Ali: The Constitution Reform Committee worked for about 9 months at 18th amendment for repealing 17th amendment. The Committee consisted of senior parliamentarian of all parties, treasury as well as opposition. All nation put their eyes at the 24th of

My name is Nawaz Sharif and I am proving Zia-ul-Haq was my daddy – by Farhad Jarral: Nawaz Sharif is proving himself that he is not a democratic leader but he is a son of a military dictator who played a big role to ruin Pakistan’s sovereignty and its youth. General Zia-ul-Haq was the man behind

Celebrating Nationhood and Constitutionalism – by Farahnaz Ispahani: Originally Published at THE NEWS The emergence of Pakistan as the homeland of South Asia’s Muslims, with their unique identity as a nation, was an unparalleled event in the twentieth century. The adoption of the Pakistan resolution at the

The Constitutional Package vs Masses Miseries – by H.A. Khan: Now a days if you switch on any news channel you will see a very deep and detailed discussion on the current work of the 27 members committee on the coming constitutional package. All anchors are confirming with their all sources

14 August 2009: Pakistan celebrates its indepdence day: The PPP Government’s Gift to the Nation: Far-reaching Fata reforms unveiled By Syed Irfan Raza Friday, 14 Aug, 2009 After amendments to the law, the powers of arbitrary arrest and detention without the right to bail have been curtailed.

Shame on Asif Zardari: Time to reform judiciary including restoration of the deposed CJ – INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP REPORT: INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP – NEW REPORT Reforming the Judiciary in Pakistan Islamabad/Brussels, 16 October 2008: Return to civilian rule in Pakistan offers an opportunity to restore the rule of law and to reverse state-driven Islamisation, which has empowered Islamist

Modifying the FCR in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas: A Long Term Strategy to Fight Terrorism: “WE cannot rein wild horses with silken braids,” wrote John William Kaye, secretary of the political and secret department of the India Office, justifying the special set of laws he helped draft to control the unruly tribesmen of Fata.