Nawaz revives hot button move that Zardari shot down three years ago Cantt boards must have civilian control to undo Musharraf’s law Tariq Butt Tuesday, September 17, 2013 From Print Edition

Tariq Butt Tuesday, September 17, 2013 From Print Edition News ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has moved to ensure increased civilian representation in the presently army-dominated cantonment boards, more than three years after a similar bid had been shot down by President Zardari. “At the time of drafting of the 18th amendment in 2010, we tried our level best to make sure that the civilians have ascendancy in the cantonment boards, but the then ruling party scorned the idea,” a senior member of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s team, who was closely associated with the process of fine-tuning the all-embracing constitutional changes, told The News. He stated that the PML-N team suggested that the civilians’ say in the cantonment boards should be greater contrary to the provisions of an ordinance that Pervez Musharraf promulgated in 2002, boosting up the representation of the army in them.“But a key member of the PPP got a severe snub from the then President, Asif Ali Zardari, when he took our proposal to him,” the source said. He claimed that Zardari strictly directed him not to let proposal sail through under any circumstances. Apparently, he said, the president did not want to send a negative message to the military establishment after the boomeranging of his move to place the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) under the interior ministry during his early days. The source said that the PML-N’s idea was to remove the effects of the 2002 Cantonments Ordinance by making a suitable change in the Constitution through the 18th amendment. This ordinance would have become extinct, wholly or partially, had the constitutional cover been withdrawn from it, the source said. He quoted article 140A to make changes in the ordinance now. The provision says each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments. Polls to the local governments shall be held by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which has already announced that the polls in the cantonments would be held on November 3. However, the prime minister has not gone ahead unilaterally to ensure civilian supremacy in the cantonment boards, but has formed a multi-party committee to formulate its recommendations to achieve the desired objective. The development is hardly viewed with approval in the military circles. The source said that some associates of the prime minister’s team including one of the members of the newly formed committee called for implementing the PML-N’s 2010 proposal. They press that the elected representatives and not the nominated persons should have a decisive sway in the cantonment boards. The 2002 ordinance gives the station commander, usually a brigadier, all financial and executive powers of a cantonmentboard for being its president. This officer is empowered to appoint an equal number of officers as members of the board like those who are elected by the people in the polls that will now be supervised by the ECP. By this authority, the station commander, who also has the veto power over the board, calls the shots instead of the public representatives because he always has a majority in the forum.The new committee comprises three PML-N nominees and one each belonging to the Muttahidda Qaumi Movement, PPP, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Awami National Party. Nominating Federal Minister Zahid Hamid as convener of the committee and inducting Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed in it shows that the main legal work of the government is being done by these two figures, who understand the law much better than many others. While promulgating the ordinance under the October 14, 1999 Proclamation of Emergency on December 3, 2002, it was stated that it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to cantonments and to reconstruct and regulate local self-government in the cantonment areas. It provided for conduct of local government elections in all the cantonments. Each cantonment comprised union councils having 12 directly elected members against the general seats. Four of the 12 seats were reserved for peasants and workers, two for women and one for minorities. Union Nazims and Naib Nazims were also the members of the union council. All union council members were elected through adult franchise on the basis of joint electorate. Regarding the composition of district council and appointment of district coordination officer and executive district officer, the ordinance said the officers of the Military Land and Cantonment Group shall be appointed on deputation. Similarly a cantonment board composed of officer commanding station who acted as the president of the board. The vice president was elected indirectly amongst the union Nazims in the cantonment. The Electoral College for election of vice president and reserved seats of women, peasants, workers and minorities in the Cantonment Board consisted of the members of the union council in a cantonment including union Nazim and Naib union Nazim.