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Imran Khan wants open border with Afghanistan
‘Grow up, young doctors!’
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pakistantoday.com.pk
Rs15.00 Vol ii no 229 22 Pages lahore edition
Law is for the poor, rich don’t even bother: CJP
Flower shop turnout outdoes university attendance
Wednesday, 15 february, 2012 Rabi-ul-awal 22, 1433
Where there’s a bill, there’s a way! Consensus between PPP, PML-N allows unanimous passing of the 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which will establish a framework for consensus caretaker setup and provide legal cover to disqualified lawmakers
ISLAMABAD MASOOD RehMAN
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday said it had become a culture that law was enforced on the poor only and no one dared question the influential. He said democracy and good governance meant being answerable to the people. The CJP said this while heading a three-member Supreme Court bench including Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez, which was hearing a case involving corruption and irregularities in the Pakistan Railways. Justice Hussain observed that the Supreme Court would not have interfered in the administrative affairs had parliament fulfilled its obligations. Justice Parvez said ‘corruption’ was now considered a right. The court expressed dismay over the Railways chairman’s absence, and directed him to ensure his personal appearance on the next hearing. The court directed the Defence and Interior secretaries to submit detailed reports over the Railways land under the possession of security forces. The court directed Railways Board Secretary Shafiqullah, who was present in the court, to submit a comprehensive report on the strategy made or being made to retrieve the land from the illegal possession. The chief secretaries of all provinces had been directed to cooperate with the Pakistan Railways in getting occupied land back. Earlier, the Pakistan Railways and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted a report, in compliance with the court’s order over the occupied land so far retrieved as well as corruption. Continued on Page 04
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan walk together towards the section allocated for MPs in favour of passing the 20th Amendment Bill in the National Assembly.
ECP gives right of vote to overseas Pakistanis ISLAMABAD STAFF RePORT
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has, in principle, decided to allow 3.7 million overseas Pakistanis to exercise the right of vote in the next general elections. The decision was taken in a meeting held here at ECP Secretariat with Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed Khan in the chair. The meeting decided that all Pakistanis who possessed National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) would
be registered in the electoral rolls and would be allowed to exercise the right of vote. The secretary asked the participants to give serious consideration to how overseas Pakistanis could be properly involved in the political process of Pakistan. After much deliberation, the NICOP idea was agreed upon in principle. Various other possibilities were also considered and discussed, such as postal ballots, but were pushed aside because they required lengthy legislation. The minutes of this consultative meeting will
be put before the ECP and further deliberation will be made to reach a fair and integrated solution. The ECP meeting was attended by the representatives of the Law Ministry, Finance Ministry and the Overseas Pakistan Foundation. Separately, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani congratulated the 3.7 million overseas Pakistanis for getting the right to vote in the national elections. The prime minister said he had been advocating for their cause on all forums.
ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR/IRFAN BuKhARI
I
N a landmark legislation to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country, the National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill, making mandatory the appointment of a caretaker setup with consensus between the prime minister and the National Assembly opposition leader. The amendment also lays out the procedure and mechanism to appoint the caretaker setup in case the prime minister and the opposition leader fail to reach consensus within three days. In that case, the National Assembly speaker would appoint an eightmember committee with four members each from the government and the opposition to reach an agreement within three days. However, if the deadlock still persists, the matter would be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to resolve and forward its recommendations to the president to install a caretaker government to hold elections in the country. These recommendations would be binding on the president. This move has kept the judiciary out of the electoral process. The amendment also provided a one-time legal protection to 28 members of parliament and the provincial assemblies whose membership was suspended for being elected during a time when the ECP was incomplete under the terms of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Differences between the government and the opposition had delayed the tabling of the amendment. After the two sides reached an agreement, the bill was finally tabled in the Lower House on Tuesday after the federal cabinet approved it earlier in the day. After a brief debate in the National Assembly, the House unanimously passed the bill. Continued on Page 04
text of the 20th amendment bill | Page 04