Pakistan: opposition slams hybrid model, demands change in system

A coalition of Pakistan's six opposition parties Friday slammed the current “hybrid” political system and called for a national dialogue aimed at creating a new democratic charter. Leaders of the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aayeen-e-Pakistan or TTAP (the movement for protection of the constitution of Pakistan) made the demand during a press conference in Islamabad on the second day of their multi-party conference. TTAP, which formed last year and formalised its organisational structure last month, pledged support for all anti-government protests and said they discussed the prevailing political conditions during their conference.
“The parties participating in the TTAP and its All-Party Conference (APC) agreed that at this time there is an urgent need for a new democratic charter among all political parties and political forces,” TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said while presenting the alliance’s resolution. “As a result of the constant attacks of the hybrid system, the Constitution of Pakistan, the human rights given in it from Articles 8 to 11, and the parliamentary democratic system have become meaningless, and today the social contract between the people and the state has been shattered. “Therefore, for the new charter, a complete consensus should be reached among all the political forces in the country after a national dialogue,” it read.
The resolution also drew attention to the socio-economic condition of Pakistan and said, “This has never been the case in the history of Pakistan. All the participating parties of the conference decided that a comprehensive and common strategy is needed to bring the country out of the current channels.” The alliance condemned the “unjust imprisonment” of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, demanding their early release and immediate appointment of their pending cases in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the Supreme Court for immediate hearing. It also criticised the recent sentencing against scores of leaders and workers of Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and also took a shot at the judiciary for failing to uphold the law.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, in his reaction to the group’s demand, said it aimed to sabotage the economy. Tarar also alleged that whenever important diplomatic meetings are due, such as the upcoming visit of the Iranian president, such events take place. The ‘hybrid model’ that the group referred to was first mentioned by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, a close aide of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. On June 20, Asif said Pakistan is being governed under a “hybrid model” in which the military enjoys a major power share.