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Rabbani says federation in danger: Baloch for restoration of Constitution: both Imtiaz, Arbab right in exchanging corruption charges
By Rana Latif, Mubashar Hassan and Iqtidar Gilani
LAHORE - Speakers at a seminar on â?~Need for national unity in view of regional and international scenarioâ?T held in connection with Hameed Nizami Day at Alhamra on Sunday, while paying tributes to him, said only restoration of 1973 constitution and democracy, supremacy of parliament, and adherence to the Islamic ideology can guarantee the integrity and solidarity of the country.
These are inevitable to not only end the present crisis but also ensure progress and prosperity of the country, they said, while demanding immediate end to military rule and finding a political solution of Balochistan issue.
Opposition Leader in Senate Raza Rabbani was the guest of honour. The meeting commenced with recitation from the Holy Quran by Qari Noor Mohammad.
Hafiz Marghoob Ahmad Hamdani recited naâ?Tat. Poet Muzaffar Warsi paid tributes to Hameed Nizami in his verses. Dr Ajmal Niazi conducted the proceedings. Ashfaq Bhatti, a citizen from Sindh, decorated the speakers sitting at the stage with Sindhi Ajrak.
Senator Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, MNA Liaquat Baloch, Senator SM Zafar, Mujib ur Rehman Shami, Mustafa Sadiq, Sharif Farooq, Muneeb Iqbal and Memona Hashmi addressed.
The Nationâ?Ts Editor-in-Chief Majid Nizami and Editor Arif Nizami were also present. The meeting was conspicuous by the absence of Ch Shujaat Hussain, who was to preside over the ceremony.
Senator Raza Rabbani in his speech said the federation was in danger due to wrong policies of the government. The Balochistan issue was not as easy as the rulers thought it to be. He said launching a military action to end the unrest would be unwise. He said PPP committed a mistake by launching an operation in the past and added the rulers should not repeat that mistake.
He said the issue was purely an economic and social one and should be dealt accordingly through dialogue.
He said that instead of solving the issue politically, the Balochs were being harassed. Referring to the recommendations of parliamentary committee on Balochistan, he said what could be the utility of the body when its members from Balochistan had resigned.
He said there was a hell of difference between the proposals submitted by the Opposition and the PML to the body.
Rabbani said the rulers had stopped attending the public meetings. He said Ch Shujaat should have come to the meeting to gauge the peopleâ?Ts sentiments. He said both NWFP and Balochistan were facing polarization and destabilization while no law and order prevailed in Sindh. He also criticized the government for Baglihar dam issue, and its de-regulation policy due to which, he said, mini budget was imposed every fortnight. The utility tariffs were increased to increase the cost of production of industrial goods in a bid to facilitate marketing of foreign goods and make Pakistan a potential market for the West.
Senator SM Zafar said Hameed Nizami Day was the day of supremacy of true journalism. He read out excerpts from the writings of Hameed Nizami in which (late) Hameed Nizami pleaded for flexibility and open-mindedness regarding listening to the opposite views. He said free press played a vital role of accountability in the absence of parliament. He said the press was peopleâ?Ts parliament. Zafar said Ch Shujaat was playing a positive role in elevating the sense of deprivation prevailing among the smaller provinces. He said politicians and not army should rule the country. He said the politicians who invite army to interfere should have no role in future politics.
MMA leader Liaqat Baloch said foreign agenda being implemented by the rulers was the biggest threat to the countryâ?Ts solidarity. He said policymakers of the country had surrendered before the foreign powers, who wanted to advance their agenda in Pakistan. He said religious education and cultural values of the country were being targeted in the name of moderation and enlightenment.
â?~Is it moderation that President should remain in uniform?â?T he asked.
Baloch in a lighter vein said, â?~Shujaat has gone to such a place from where it is difficult for him to return.â?T He said General Musharraf advocated that one should not enforce oneâ?Ts opinions or ideas on others, but himself imposed his will on the entire nation. The MMA leader demanded review of 316 ordinances and laws enforced by President Musharraf without any legitimacy. Condemning Musharraf for invoking people against religious forces, Baloch said he (Musharraf) intended to create unrest in mosques and madaris.
He said restoration of 1973 Constitution was the only way to protect national integrity. The entire opposition, he said, was united on the one-point agenda that a review committee be set up to work for the restoration of the constitution, which, according to him, was being made controversial by the government. He vowed that MMA would work in cohesion with all other political forces for the protection of the constitution and subsequent restoration of democracy.
Baloch decried government for its handling of Balochistan issue, saying conducting a military operation to settle the dispute would prove suicidal for the country. Talking about MMAâ?Ts reservations on National Security Council, he called it a supra parliament body. Its chairman, he said, should have been the prime minister instead of president-cum-army chief.
MMA leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmad in his speech praised Nawa-i-Waqt for resisting dictatorships in the country, and added that present writers of the paper also adhered to the same policy. He underlined the need for making constitution a sole point of consensus for all the political forces to safeguard the countryâ?Ts solidarity. All democratic forces are united against the government on the issue of revival of the constitution, he said.
Hafiz Hussain said the presiding chair was as empty as the presidency. He criticized President Musharraf for his views about religious leaders and his remarks about knickers. â?~Now he has developed a liking for knickers. I fear he may some day come in parliament in knickers,â?T he joked.
Responding to Dr Ajmal Niaziâ?Ts (stage secretary) remarks that he did not want to name Musharraf, Hafiz said, â?~Sometimes it is unavoidable to name a person who is himself an abuse for the country.â?T
â?~If General Musharraf can invoke masses to rise against religious leaders while addressing a public gathering in Gujarat, I can also address a battalion in Balochistan urging the officers to kick out their army chief,â?T he said.
On Balochistan issue, he said, â?~People of the province are loyal with Pakistan, and whosoever says otherwise, is a foolish, even if that person happens to be General Musharraf.â?T Talking about row between former Sindh Minister Imtiaz Sheikh and Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who have levelled corruption charges against each other, he said both were right.
PML-N central leader MNA Memoona Hashmi said the generals had engaged themselves in property business instead of doing their original task of protecting the borders of the country. She said high officials of the army were involved in land deals in big cities and Gwadar. She said a sense of insecurity prevailed among the masses due to internal situation of the country caused by the military rulers.
Memoona said the rulers resorted to the practice of taking favorable decisions from courts through pressure. She said elected members were mere rubber stamps while the ones who raised voice were put behind the bars. She said all these practices were against national interests. She said country always faced setbacks during the military governments. She said public was well aware about the fact that when and what happened with Bengal and Siachin. She said people were not ready to accept a person as their president and army chief who should be implicated in treason case for violating the constitution and illegally stepping into power corridor. She said the exile of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto was a conspiracy against the federation. She said it was a pity that General Musharraf was himself saying that there was no reality in Dr Shazia case.
Memoona said raising voice against a suppressive ruler was jihad, which should be waged by the political forces. Lauding the role played by Hameed Nizami and Nawa-i-Waqt in Pakistan Movement and struggle against dictators after independence, Memoona said the practice of the legendary figure and the institution could serve as a beacon for the future exercises in the country.
Majeeb-ur-Rehman Shami said army was our real asset but at the same time it caused serious damages to the country. He said army played with the fortune of the country in the past. He said army suppressed the right of the people to govern and insulted common man, constitution and the parliament. He said the future of the country lies not with the army but with the people, constitution and democracy. He said the rulers had nothing to do with the people. He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced land reforms during 1977 but the following military regime repealed those.
Shami said our society was deteriorating due to the wrong policies of military ruler. He said it was pity that the rulers were pushing the people toward the West. He said the rulers were creating disturbance in the society after creating political turmoil. The promotion of vulgarity by private channels, cable networks and movies was contributing to the deterioration of the society.
Shami said Nawa-i-Waqt was playing the same role for the protection of ideological frontiers, which the Kahuta was playing for safeguarding the geographical boundaries of the country. He said both Pakistan and Nawa-i-Waqt had made progress only due to good leaderships in the shape of Quaid-i-Azam and Hameed Nizami. He said Majid Nizami and Arif Nizami were custodians of the principles of Hameed Nizami.
A veteran journalist, Mustafa Sadiq, said struggle of Nawa-i-Waqt for the protection of Ideology of Pakistan was highly commendable. He said it was worrisome that there was no one to work for political reconciliation in the country. He said Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and Hameed Nizami were the persons who worked for national reconciliation in the past but now no person of that caliber was available. He said he had the honour of enjoying the company of Hameed Nizami.
Munib Iqbal, grandson of Allama Iqbal, in his speech opposed any possible military action in Balochistan, which, according to him, could disintegrate the country the separation of East Pakistan was also a result of military action in that province, he said.
Munib said national language could be made a basis for national cohesion by attaching greater preference to it over the regional languages. â?~We are first Pakistanis and then anything else,â?T he said, adding, â?~We should talk of â?~greater Pakistanâ?T instead of chanting slogans of â?~greater Punjabâ?T.â?T
He praised (late) Hameed Nizami for his role in the promotion of true journalism, saying his name would be written in golden words in the history of journalism.
Sharif Farooq, a senior journalist from Peshawar, said (late) Hameed Nizami was a keen observer of countryâ?Ts internal affairs and he successfully endeavoured to protect its ideological and geographical boundaries.
Earlier, Sajida Hanif Abbasi from NAC and a student from Government High School, Hafizabad No-2, Adnan Dani, presented portraits of (late) Hameed Nizami to The Nationâ?Ts Editor-in-Chief Majid Nizami. http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2005/28/index1.php | 
