All legislation be made by parliament, executive power to issue ordinances be taken away: Rabbani

ISLAMABAD, Mar 09 (APP):Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani Friday said that Article 89 of the Constitution and the powers of executive to issue ordinances should be taken away and all legislation should be made by the parliament.
During his farewell speech as Senate chairman, he said every institution would have to work within its constitutional limits. The House had a debate on the role of institutions and he had given about 70 pages ruling on the matter, he added.
Rabbani said intra-institutional dialogue was vital, but he considered it proper not to give his ruling, which he would place before the House on March 12 as way forward to avoid conflict among institutions, if he took oath on that day.
He said the process of dialogue among institutions was initiated with the visits of former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and Chief of the Army Staff to the Senate and his meeting with the incumbent CJP.
Rabbani said the parliament had itself given its space to others. The parliament was dissolved and remained suspended in past, but after revival it had passed all the laws enacted by usurpers and 18th Constitutional Amendment was an exception, under which “We did not ratify any law of Pervez Musharraf and also avoided legal vacuum.”
He thanked all the senators, employees, Capital Development Authority and media for extending cooperation during his 3-year tenure as Senate chairman.
“I am also thankful to the prime minister, his cabinet members, Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition for extending their cooperation,” he added.
“Today I am here because of two ladies – one is my (real) mother and the second is political mother Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. I always followed principles and never compromised on the supremacy of parliament,” he said.
Rabbani said he had given chairman’s full powers to the House Business Committee to run the affairs of the House with collective wisdom.
He said the recommendations of the Senate Whole Committee to make the Senate elections transparent were rejected by the Election Reforms Committee. Direct election on the Senate seats, he said, was not a solution to curb the prevailing trend of horsetrading. The Senate would be become a photocopy of the National Assembly as parties winning majority through direct election would prevail in the House, he added.
He said he had given 73 rulings on various constitutional affairs during his tenure.
Raza Rabbani also handed over the details about his assets and liabilities to the Senate Secretariat.