Attachment
The office of president is the symbol of the federation and attempts to make it absolutely powerful have landed the country in crisis, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said.
“The survival and stability of the political system is tied to the strengthening of the institution of parliament. Parliamentary supremacy is key to the solution of all political problems of Pakistan and any attempt at stripping the representative body of its power will only work against the country, as it has in the past,” Zardari said in a statement issued here on Sunday.
“There is a false perception in the media that having the same political representation in parliament and the presidency would lead to imbalances in power. For the PPP, that is the biggest federal political force of the country, parliamentary form of governance is the only preferable system since it allows for representation of our constituencies. Any other system would only threaten the stability of the country,” he said.
Crises: Stressing that parliamentary supremacy is the “key agenda” of the PPP, Zardari said that all the past political crises faced by the country came from a presidency that sought to override the parliamentary system. “We want to facilitate a system that allows parliament to work as the supreme representative institution. Parliamentary committees must be empowered and strengthened, and the process of legislation and transparency must flow through the parliament.”
Zardari said that establishing a system of parliamentary oversight would be the government’s key priority. “The presence of consensus coalition governments in the centre and in the provinces offers a good opportunity to ensure that there is no culture of selective accountability. The process of accountability must be transparent and supervised by the parliament. It is the responsibility of parliament to safeguard the political system. This is what the people of Pakistan voted for on February 18, and all political forces are obliged to represent the will of the people and strengthen the parliamentary system,” he added.
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