After a lull of several months, the issue of the 17th constitutional amendment and the sweeping powers it grants to the president, giving him the right to dissolve assemblies, is being heard again. The PML-N has recently issued several reminders to President Zardari to remind him of his promise to scrap such laws, and has said its support to him as a democratically elected head of state will be conditional on his delivery on these pledges. The PML-N is said also to be preparing to move in parliament for a repeal of the 17th amendment. The prime minister has promised support. Given that in Islamabad there is much talk of a divide between the prime minister and the president, this opens up some intriguing political possibilities. But it is too early to predict what will happen on this front, with the PPP denying any rift within its ranks.
It would be immensely beneficial to all of us as citizens if our political parties were able to rise above self-interest and put national issues on top of their priority list. A display of principle is what we need most of all in these troubled times when multiple issues face us. The amendments in the Constitution that give the president power over assemblies have been a source of a great deal of destabilization through recent history. They have been a key factor in the repeated downfall of democratically elected governments, in a process that has continued since 1990. What we need most of all is a safe, sturdy political system: one within which roles are clearly defined and powers distinctly allocated. Our parliamentary system demands that the PM play the pivotal role in such a setup. For these reasons the 17th amendment must go. All political parties need to come together on this, as a matter of principle that can ward off a great deal of instability in the future and by doing so move towards a solution that offers an end to the problems we face today.