Complete Text: The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003.
Understanding Pakistan Project Team September 23rd, 2007
The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003.
ACT NO. III OF 2003
An Act further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the purposes hereinafter appearing ;
It is hereby enacted as follows :-
1. Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003.
(2) It shall come into force at once.
2. Amendment of Article 41 of the Constitution.-In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the Constitution, in Article 41,-
(1) in clause (7), in paragraph (b), for the full stop at the end, a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely :-
“Provided that paragraph (d) of clause (1) of Article 63 shall become operative on and from the 31st day of December, 2004.”; and
(2) after clause (7) amended as aforesaid, the following new clauses shall be added, namely :-
“(8) Without prejudice to the provisions of clause (7), any member or members of a House of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or of a Provincial Assembly, individually or jointly, may, not later than thirty days from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003, move a resolution for vote of confidence for further affirmation of the President in office by majority of the members present and voting, by division or any other method as prescribed in the rules made by the Federal Government under clause (9), of the electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and the Provincial Assemblies, in a special session of each House of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and of each Provincial Assembly summoned for the purpose, and the vote of confidence having been passed, the President, notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution or judgment of any court, shall be deemed to be elected to hold office for a term of five years under the Constitution, and the same shall not be called in question in any court or forum on any ground whatsoever.
(9) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force, the proceedings for the vote of confidence referred to in clause (8) shall be regulated and conducted by the Chief Election Commissioner in accordance with such procedure and the votes shall be counted in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules framed by the Federal Government :
Provided that clauses (8) and (9) shall be valid only for the forthcoming vote of confidence for the current term of the President in office.”.
Like many others, I too, was willing to give them a third chance, if only because there was no other alternative. However, deep down in my heart, I was very skeptical of how comprehensive and thorough their “education” in democratic values has been. True, adversity is a great teacher but our politicians have repeatedly shown a tendency not to learn from their own mistakes and Nawaz and Benazir were probably no exceptions. I was concerned that this alliance between these leaders was only temporary in the sense that once either of them came to power, he or she will forget all the lofty democratic values expressed in this Charter. Transplanting meaningful and stable democracy in Pakistan requires not only that our learders learn how to handle the “power” of the government (”absolute power corrupts absolutely!”) but also that they learn how to sit on the opposition benches and engage constructively, critically, and meaningfully with the government. Above all, it requires a certain temperament that will only come when our leaders will truly understand what democracy really is–as a system–and develop the right democratic values to sustain and nourish it.
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