OUR CHARTER

Wed, Mar 05, 2008


HUMAN RIGHTS & DEVELOPMENT FORUM releases its Charter as explained in the following paragraphs:



- Charter demands fundamental rights be made
inviolable
- Individual’s rights and freedoms be taken as core values
- Supreme Court ought to annul the legislation repugnant to
the fundamental rights and freedoms
- Democracy cannot flourish without rule of law


The Charter seeks to present a solution to the myriad problems and unimaginable sufferings faced by the ordinary people of Pakistan to achieve freedom and prosperity for all its individual citizens.
The Charter says that the military dictators have been contriving political crises, eroding the federation’s unity, subordinating all of the state institutions, marginalizing civil society, making a mockery of the Constitution and its representative institutions, causing poverty, unemployment and inequalitythrough their bad policies, brutalizing society, breaking down the rule of law. The political parties played the role of a partial or total accomplice to the military dictatorships. To say the least, they never opted for principled politics. They always avoided the real issues, misguiding and misleading people. Utterly immoral, they are guilty of politics of opportunism.
The Charter further asserts that the military dictatorships are not alone in playing havoc with the nation’s destiny, creating conditions disallowing the progress of the people and the flowering of democracy, undermining the people’s mandate and sovereign will of the people, the political parties have been and are their greatest collaborators. Had it not been so, it would have been very difficult for the dictators to create the illusion of democracy.
The Charter explains that if the political parties in power establish only a limited government, an independent judiciary, rule of law and merit, protection of private property, free markets and a free and independent media; everything else will take care of itself. This is how democracy can work in Pakistan.
The Charter further maintains that a constitution is an instrument for the people to restrain the government; whereas in Pakistan it was turned into an instrument for government to restrain the people. It holds that the sole purpose of a constitution is to establish a government to ensure, secure and protect the fundamental inalienable rights of the citizens. These rights include their right to life, liberty, happiness; their freedom to think, express and publish; freedom to assemble, freedom to free exercise of their belief; freedom to trade and business; and their right to justice.
The Charter asserts that the Constitution of Pakistan be amended by the parliament and any amendment made by the parliament in the Constitution be reviewed by the Supreme Court to ensure that no legislation will be made by any government in any manner to expand its powers or to curtail the inalienable rights and freedoms of the people of Pakistan.