Charter of Parliament: will it work?

If the speaker is genuinely appalled by the events of September 10, he should immediately file an FIR, just as he did in 2014 when Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri’s protestors attempted to storm Parliament. This is precisely what PTI has demanded of him: if he is truly committed to uniting political parties for the betterment of the country, he must demonstrate courage by taking action and holding the real culprits accountable.

Analysis

Ansar M Bhatti

ISLAMABAD: The Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, has proposed a “Charter of Parliament” aimed at fostering political consensus among various stakeholders, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Bilawal Bhutto, in his speech, emphasized that any effort towards political consensus without PTI’s participation would be futile.

But the question arises: why did the Speaker suddenly propose this charter, and why did all political parties, except PTI, agree to it?

The answer seems obvious. The unprecedented “ransacking” of the Parliament House on September 10, 2024, by masked individuals left everyone shocked. The Speaker, as the custodian of the House, bears responsibility for the safety of its members. The fact that members of Parliament were arrested from within the National Assembly premises was a particularly troubling development. No one expected that those who consider themselves above the law would go so far as to violate the sanctity of the Parliament itself.

In an attempt to mitigate the humiliation caused by these events and the arrests of parliamentarians within the House, the Speaker, it appears, proposed the so-called “Charter of Parliament” as a means of diverting attention.

In justifying the proposal, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq suggested that if the leaderships are uninterested in such an arrangement, then members should move forward on their own. However, one must question whether Ayaz Sadiq, a long-time ally of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, could truly act independently of their influence. Is he capable of disregarding their directives? The answer is likely no, which raises the suspicion that this proposal is merely a political maneuver designed for face-saving purposes rather than a genuine effort toward political unity.

If the speaker is genuinely appalled by the events of September 10, he should immediately file an FIR, just as he did in 2014 when Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri’s protestors attempted to storm Parliament. This is precisely what PTI has demanded of him: if he is truly committed to uniting political parties for the betterment of the country, he must demonstrate courage by taking action and holding the real culprits accountable.

The prospects for the success of the Charter of Parliament appear quite bleak. Both the PPP and PML-N have a history of signing similar agreements, such as the Charter of Democracy, but failing to honor their commitments. As a result, the Charter of Democracy never truly materialized. One particularly interesting clause in that charter was a pledge by both parties to never form a government with the help of the Establishment!!