KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Leader Senator Sherry Rehman made a case for Pakistanis to take back their constitution in her opening keynote on the second day of the London School of Economics’ Pakistan Summit held at IBA Karachi.
Asserting on the importance of understanding the constitution, Rehman said, “For democracy to be meaningful, citizens must put it to use as a constitutional entitlement. We have very little sense of our entitlements. The Constitution is not a remote document but something which gives rights”.
“The government for the people, by the people is no more. It’s now government with the people. Democracy will not work if it’s a top-down construct,” continued the Senator.
Rehman added, “It is time to ask questions about the laws that govern our country and laws outside, even as borders harden. Mapping the fundamentals is important to the architecture of laws that govern us today.”
“One core value that we must work on is inclusion. Pakistan is not a monolith and we have been managing our diversity pretty badly. Minority’s voices matter. All citizens must be equal in the eyes of the state,” said the Senator to applause from the audience.
In her address, Rehman highlighted the importance of detecting global trends, saying, “We are living in an era of profound change and social upheaval but we cannot disconnect. Our constitution needs to account for the three major global trends climate change, terrorism and accelerating digital usage.”
“There is nothing reversible about climate change, terrorism knows no borders and we do not know how to control the internet which is opening doors we do not know how to close. We need predictability, transparency and accountability in this digital age,” the Senator elaborated.
Rehman further said, “The 18th amendment refashioned the entire relationship with the centre and the way resources are distributed. It envisioned strengthening federal units, national institutions and ensuring that issues of public importance are resolved democratically at a local level. The RTI for instance, played a critical role in making the government less remote”.
The senator went on to say, “The nature of reform is extremely unwieldy and a fair amount of compromise and political consensus made the 18th amendment possible. Then Asif Ali Zardari did not have to reduce the powers of the President but he did. The PPP government restored the 1973 constitution and devolved all powers to the provinces to end the sense of deprivation in smaller provinces. It has become the party’s pledge and commitment to its manifesto and the people,” concluded Rehman.
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