On 20th February, Pakistan's parliament, the National Assembly, passed the 20th constitutional amendment bill with lightening speed. The bill allows for parliamentarians currently in limbo to be restored and for an interim set-up to be constituted to oversee the next general elections. The bill was passed in the National Assembly with complete consensus, whilst in the upper house, the Senate, only two senators opposed it. However, the passage of the bill was apparently oiled by the doling out of "development funds," as well as the notification of the perks and privileges of retired Senators. The government released over 366 million rupees to sixty Senators, including twenty due to retire as a bribe to gain their support. This constitutional amendment bill is actually a quid-pro-quo between the PPP government and the opposition, which is currently allied with the Army.

 According to this amendment bill, the government had its wish list of legalizing the elected parliamentarians in the recent by-elections, whilst the opposition got its way by changing the process of appointment of the caretaker Prime Minster and Chief Minster for the upcoming elections. According to the amendment, equal members of opposition and the ruling coalition will have the opportunity to select the caretaker PM and CMs and in case of a deadlock the decision of the Election Commission will prevail. It seems that the PPP relinquished control over the caretaker setup under extreme pressure from the army and its "coalition political parties," but at the same time it was able to buy time to hold Senate elections under their tenure which would allow her to have a substantial number of seats in the Senate. All this wheeling and dealing was not enough, so the PPP had to get the two third majority through good old "democratic practices" i.e. bribing the politicians. Hence 366.1 million rupees and a nice takeaway package for the outgoing Senators was crafted to get their nod. All at a time when people are suffering with 10-12 hours of load-shedding and not to mention daily suicides due to economic problems. No doubt, democracy is the best ruling system that money can buy! No doubt, Bilawal Zardari (son of Asif Zardari) spoke the truth when he said, "Democracy is the best revenge". Little did the Ummah know that he was talking about the revenge against the people and not against the dictators!

The 20th amendment, like the 17th and 18th amendments, had nothing to do with improving the plight of the masses. We saw under Musharraf's rule the passage of the 17th amendment with the help Mutahida Mjlis-e-Amal (MMA) - a coalition of Islamic parties supporting democracy. Through this amendment, Musharraf's support to America in her so-called War on Terror was legalized. Musharraf's treacherous deal of granting logistic support and military bases to the US, intelligence sharing, arresting Muslims and shipping them to Guantanamo Bay, as well as surrendering a free air-corridor, was legalized through this amendment. According to the amendment all of the above mentioned acts of Musharraf were made beyond any reprimand and beyond the legal jurisdiction of any court. Rather, they were declared to have been taken in "good faith". The amended article 270-AA (2) under the heading of "Validation and affirmation of laws" states:

"All orders made, proceedings taken, appointments made, including secondments and deputations, and acts done by any authority, or by any person, which were made, taken or done, or purported to have been made, taken or done, ... shall, notwithstanding - any judgment of any court, be deemed to be and always to have been validly made, taken or done and shall not be called in question in any court or forum on and ground whatsoever."

Hence through this democracy, America legalized the treachery of Musharraf and gave legal cover to all his unlawful and un-Islamic acts. This was not the first time US has used democracy nor would it be the last. We saw another wholesale fraud when America engineered the NRO (Nation Reconciliation Ordinance) under her watchful eye and subsequently paving the way for the return of Benazir Bhutto and the replacement of Musharraf with Zardari.

Its clear that democracy and dictatorship are two tools in the hands of the US which allow ‘Man' to legislate, which in turn are used by the US to continue her hegemony in the Muslim lands. The people of Pakistan are fed-up with both dictatorship and democracy and are looking for real change. This real change can only be brought by a divine ruling system, the KHILAFAH, where law making rests with Allah SWT alone, whilst the Khaleefah only has the executive authority to rule according to the Laws ordained by Allah (SWT). This is the only system, which restricts Man from becoming the absolute sovereign, be it individually or through a group.

Naveed Butt
The Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahririn Pakistan