Daily Diary (DD) - Day 164 of 2018

2337hrs:

The days go by....data mounts......important notes in public interest need to be extracted everyday and made public.........transparency in thought and motive....

As I mull over the 'constitutional question' of AJK and now that I have fresh material in the shape of the '13th Amendment', the need to elaborate on the self-serving assumptions of Pakistan's legal stance vis a vis its relationship with AJK, becomes compelling.

For many years and after many a discussion with legal experts in AJK and Pakistan, I still can't understand the legal validity of the word 'When' at the beginning of article 257 of the 1973 Pakistani constitution. At best it should be written as 'If'.

At least I got an affirmative laugh on that remark from a senior legal expert in AJK!

Article 257 of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan reads:

257. Provision relating to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
When the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir decide to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between Pakistan and that State shall be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of that State. 

The distance between assumption and fact cannot be measured in time or even verified. It has more to do with principles and performance (especially in matters of governance). 70 years and counting provides ample 'material' especially in this digital age. 

The following may qualify as a metaphor:
A thief could steal something in 1947 and remain largely undetected or disturbed. If need be, he, she or it could provide a plausible alibi or even a meaningful narrative. Not in June 2018. 

There are audio/video capturing devices everywhere now. Information gathering has come of age. The same modus operandi in 1947 cannot work today.

Assumption Number 2:
That Pakistan's totalitarian control of AJK and GB is sanctioned by the United Nations. Further, that their presence has been unreservedly backed by an overwhelming majority of the 'citizens' of the 2 territories in question. 

This could be a huge thread in academic discussion but needs to be scrutinised by the people of AJK before exploring the pros and cons of AJK's 44 year leap from 'Interim Act' in 1974 to 'Interim Constitution' today. 

Thank you Pakistan for the 13th Amendment.

Governance and functioning institutions have never been your forte. 

These are not my words to be precise, I'm just paraphrasing the fundamental argument made by Imran Khan in a recent interview on BBC Hardtalk