JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has rebuffed the idea of replacing country’s current parliamentary system with a presidential form of government saying that such insinuations are against the constitution of the country, a private TV channel reported.
“Presidential form of government is a symbol of war and dictatorship… no one can impose authoritarian rule in the country and only people have right to elect their representatives,” he said while addressing a rally in Layyah on Tuesday. Fazl while recalling the past stints said that country suffered a lot under the “presidential governments” led by military rulers. “General Ayub Khan sold our [Pakistan’s] three rivers to India. Likewise, during the tenure of General Yahya Khan the country was split into two parts,” he maintained.
He said those who were speaking in favour of the presidential system were violating the sanctity of the 1973 constitution and added that such ideas were against the country’s national interest.
Fazl said the Objective Resolution was made part of the constitution and people belonging to all schools of thought are abiding by the existing system. He said the real issue was not the system of the country but non-implementation of the constitution. “Establishment is involved in power politics and subsequently politicians also become part of this,” he remarked, implying that the country’s democratic system was not fully independent.
Taking a jibe at the ruling PTI, Fazl said the incumbent government has destroyed the country’s economy and surrendered it’s autonomy to the international institutions. “We have never witnessed such an incompetent government [in the country’s history] which presents four budgets a year.”
