ISLAMABAD: PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain submitted on Tuesday a constitution amendment bill to the Senate secretariat seeking to replace the words “high treason” in Article 6 with “offence against state”.
The PML-Q chief submitted the bill a day after he had presented himself for trial along with retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, for supporting the imposition of emergency by him on Nov 3, 2007.
Through the bill, he has proposed that in sub-sections 1, 2 and 3 of Article 6, the words “high treason” be replaced with “offence against the state”.
According to a PML-Q official and a brief announcement released by the party’s media cell, “it has been stated in the Statement of Objectives and Reasons for the amendment that word ‘high treason’, which has been used in Article 6, creates the impression that the person involved in this crime has with the enemy forces done some work against the state. This impression is not correct.”
Chaudhry Shujaat has also proposed that the same changes should also be made in sections 120 to 130 of the Pakistan Penal Code and in the Criminal Law Act 1973 which deal with punishment for high treason.
He has also written a letter to Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari requesting him to allow the amendment to be presented before the house for debate and discussion.
Gen Pervez Musharraf is facing a trial under Article 6 which says that “any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance the constitution by use of force or show of force by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason”.
The PML-Q chief has taken the step apparently because opponents of Gen Musharraf have been using the term ‘traitor’ for the former army chief who had toppled the elected government of Nawaz Sharif on Oct 12, 1999, and then remained in power till August 2008.
Taking part in the debate on the country’s security situation in the Senate on Monday, Chaudhry Shujaat not only presented himself for trial under Article 6 but also called for including the names of former army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for supporting the military dictator on different occasions.
He said the term ‘traitor’ was used for a person who joined hands with the enemies of the country. “What message we want to give to the world by declaring that our army chief was a traitor?”
The PML-Q was the ruling party during Gen Musharraf’s rule and Chaudhry Shujaat served as the prime minister for a brief period after resignation of Zafarullah Jamali and before the election of Shaukat Aziz.
When contacted, PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Raza Rabbani, said that in his opinion the Senate Secretariat would reject the PML-Q’s bill on technical grounds.
He said that if Chaudhry Shujaat had sought amendment to the constitution as well as in the two other laws through one bill, it was not possible under the rules.
The PPP leader said he would consult his party colleagues in the Senate on the issue, adding that personally he would oppose the bill, even if it was moved again by the PML-Q chief with some changes.
He said there could be no bigger crime against a state than suspending or holding the constitution in abeyance.