I saw the making of the Constitution!

Dr Lubna Zaheer

Respected Altaf Hassan Qureshi is a very reliable name in Pakistani journalism. For the last seven decades, he has been shining brightly on the horizon of journalism. Qureshi propagated the truth at all times and due to his bold style of journalism, the seasoned journalist also had to bear the hardships of imprisonment. In his journalistic career, he wrote hundreds and thousands of articles, editorials and reports on political, social and economic topics. He had the opportunity to interview 20 famous personalities. Many of his interviews are of historical importance. 

Many moons ago, Qureshi started Urdu Digest in the style of Reader's Digest under the shadow of his elder brother Ejaz Qureshi. Urdu Digest set new popularity records in Pakistan. Even today Urdu Digest is being published very successfully. Altaf Qureshi's age is more or less 93 years. Despite this old age, his thoughtful writings on national issues continue to pass through our eyes. He is always busy in writing, reading and researching. From time to time his new work comes out. In the recent past, two of his books "Jang September Ki Yadayen" and "Eastern Pakistan-- Ek Tota Howa Tara" were published. Both these books are of historical importance. From their names alone one can judge the themes and contents of their books.

Now Altaf Qureshi Sahib has published a new book titled "I Saw the Making of the Constitution". The co-author of this book Professor Dr Amanullah is the Principal of Punjab University Law College. He is a good teacher. But one of his [Altaf Hussian] great qualities is his democratic and constitutional ideas. This is a quality that is rarely seen in today's teachers. Reading the title of this book, it feels like this book tells the story of different stages of constitution-making in Pakistan. But it’s not so. This is actually the story of the establishment of Pakistan. At the beginning of this book, Altaf Qureshi narrates his personal story about how his political and democratic ideas developed. Under whose shadow did his ideas gain stability?

The book tells the story of the decline of the Mughal Empire, which culminated in the fall of Bahadur Shah Zafar's rule in 1857. The book mentions the educational, literary and constitutional struggle of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Apart from this, there is a description of the story of the partition of Bengal, the establishment of the Muslim League, atrocities of British imperialism, conspiracies of Hindus, Allama Iqbal's concept of Pakistan, the struggle of Quaid-e-Azam and the Pakistan Movement. This is a very good book in the context of the establishment of Pakistan. It is written in a very simple and easy-to-understand manner. Nowadays, it has become a custom that the youth question the creation of Pakistan. This phenomenon is new as many so-called intellectuals have been spreading this propaganda for years. Now this is what they are putting in the minds of the youth. In this context, it’s necessary that the young generation read this book to understand what conditions and difficulties were faced to get to this country.

A function was also organised in the Executive Club of the Punjab University regarding this book. At the invitation of Altaf Qureshi and the publisher of the book, Allama Asim, I had the opportunity to participate in this book introduction ceremony. Altaf Qureshi and Mujeebur Rehman Shami had a very good and meaningful discussion in the context of the establishment of Pakistan, democracy and the constitution. Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi, Hafeezullah Niazi, Dr Hussain Paracha, Sajjad Mir Sahib, Apa Salmi Awan, Dr Mujahid Kamran, Dr Khalid Mahmood and other eminent personalities were also present in the ceremony. 
This is the first volume of "I Saw the Constitution Being Written". It is hoped that the second volume of this book will also come out soon and will fully cover the title of the book and tell the story of the creation of Pakistan and the development of the constitution.

While reading this book, I kept thinking that I wish Altaf Qureshi would describe in detail in the second volume how after the establishment of Pakistan, we were entangled in political and administrative issues and neglected the constitution for eight or nine years. On the other hand, India focused on making a constitution and made its own constitution within two years. The first Constitution of Pakistan, formed on March 23, 1956, was abrogated by General Ayub Khan just two years later in 1958. The general then imposed martial law and laid the formal foundation for military intervention in the country's political system. Later the Constitution of 1973 was made. But after a few years, General Zia-ul-Haq overthrew the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government, suspended the 1973 Constitution and imposed martial law. Similarly, in 1999, General Pervez Musharraf dethroned the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, suspended the Constitution and imposed an emergency.

I wish Altaf Qureshi would also tell the story of how our judiciary dealt with those who broke the Constitution in the second volume. How in 1954, Justice Munir laid down the doctrine of necessity in the decision of the Maulvi Tamizuddin case. How the Supreme Court gave legal protection to General Ayub Khan's act of imposing martial law and abrogating the constitution in 1958. In 1977, our Supreme Judiciary provided legal cover to General Ziaul Haq for his move to overthrow Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and impose martial law. Later, in 2000, the SC justified Gen Pervez Musharraf's overthrow of the Nawaz Sharif government and imposition of martial law. Apart from this, Gen Musharraf was very generously allowed to make amendments to the Constitution. 

I wish this story could also be told about how the judges of the SC, during the tenures of the dictatorship, would continue to take the oath and accept high positions under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). It is hoped that in the second volume of this book, Altaf Qureshi will narrate this story in detail for students of history and politics like us.

-- The writer is a professor and analyst specializing in media and communication studies. She can be reached at lubna.zaheer91@gmail.com

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