Constitutional reforms for whom

Speaker Fehmida Mirza unveiled the 27-member parliamentary committee for constitutional reforms on June 24, 2009, which represents 15 political parties in the National Assembly. President Asif Zardari has described it as an important step forward to the restoration of consensus Constitution of 1973 and congratulated the Parliament and speaker National Assembly on the formation of the committee. He expressed the hope that collectively the committee will make recommendations for removing undemocratic distortions made in the constitution. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said: "Now, it is up to the parliamentary committee to restore the supremacy of the Parliament by removing the 17th amendment and Article 58-2(B) curtailing the powers of the president and empowering the prime minister." Anyhow, people are least bothered about constitutional reforms, as there is nothing concrete for the welfare of the hapless masses.
The nation has been listening to the rhetoric of creating a balance between powers of president and prime minister but it is after about a year only a parliamentary committee has been formed but there is no timeframe. According to the speaker, should the committee fail to come out with the consensus formula for constitutional reforms, the matter would be decided by the National Assembly on the basis of majority, which is an accepted norm in democracy. In all its probability, they will not reach consensus on reforms, as there will be a lot of bickering and debating on each and every clause and the matter will be brought to the assembly for voting. But the opposition would not like to accept anything short of making President Zardari as Chaudhry Fazal Ilahi. There is a perception that western democracy is also in essence a plutocracy - rule by the wealthy because they are the ones who can afford the cost of participating in the elections.
Aristotle defined constitution in broad terms "mode of life, which included not only the political institutions of a community but the distribution of wealth, the religious myths, and the education and leisure of its citizens." Nevertheless in modern parlance constitution is said to be a social contract between elected government and people, which encompasses duties and responsibilities of the ruler and the ruled. The people after waging struggle for centuries were able to achieve certain fundamental rights, and concept of civil society had emerged that guaranteed those rights. Civil rights were developed first in the 18th century followed by political rights in the 19th century. The most modern concept of human rights was evolved as a result of the social policy reform of 1945 Labour government in England followed by other European countries, backed by United Nations Charter after the 2nd World War.