No law, other than the law of force, can
make General Pervez Musharraf shed his uniform, said legal
experts while commenting on whether the Constitution bounds
the president to step down as chief of army staff on or
before December 31.
"Fact" contacted
legal experts to ask whether the 17th Constitutional Amendment,
which brings Articles 41 and Article 63 (1) (d) into operation
on December 31, provided any room for General Pervez Musharraf
to simultaneously hold the offices of president and chief
of army staff.
Article 63 (1) (d) says: “A person
shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as,
and from being, a member of the parliament, if he holds
an office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than
an office declared by law not to disqualify its holder”.
The people who support General Mushraff’s
interpretation of the amendment say that under Article
63 (1) (d), the government needs to pass a bill with a
simple majority declaring the chief of army staff exempt
from the bar contained in the main portion of Article
63 to allow General Musharraf to keep his uniform.
“The law is clear and the articles
of the Constitution should be interpreted in entirety
and not in isolation. However, the generals are bent upon
making dubious interpretations and mould it to let General
Musharraf perpetuate his rule in his military outfit,”
said Supreme Court Bar of Pakistan Association President
Justice (r) Tariq Mahmood.
Illegal acts and the bad attitude of army
generals towards the people had maligned the military’s
reputation in the eyes of the people and they had made
a focal target fighting for their civil rights, said Justice
(r) Mahmood.
Dictators have always disliked the law
and the Constitution and considered them obstacles in
their unlawful desire to kick out prime ministers and
take power in their own hands, said the SCPBA president.
Hamid Khan, former SCPBA president, said he did not expect
the disclosure of General Musharraf’s intentions
soon.
“General Musharraf has shown his
mind to flout and subvert the Constitution again. He had
already weakened the judiciary and other Constitutional
institutions,” said Mr Khan. Article 260 is another
bar in the Constitution that prevents persons serving
in the armed forces from acquiring civil and profitable
positions, said the former SCPBA president. The desires
of the generals had no bounds because they could realise
everything they wanted through brutal force, added Mr
Khan.
He said that it was unfortunate that General
Musharraf was misusing his uniform, which actually made
him a custodian of the law and the Constitution.
