Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, May 3rd, 2024

A doomed Struggle for Restoration of Parliament’s Status

Days ago, the lower house of the parliament agreed in consensus to summon eleven ministers who failed to spend at least half of their development budget, but did not make it clear when cabinet ministers should be called and what would be their decision if ministers provide logical justification for their failure. Certainly, if some get no vote and disqualified than President Karzai should deal with obsession to nominate new members as cabinet members while he himself wouldn't serve more than a year and half.

Perhaps, if any minister be disqualified, it may take months to replace him with a new one who should also get the approval of lower house of the parliament. In such a situation, the ministers will have only months to lounge on enticing ministerial chair or put his plans into effect if he ever has some.

In addition, all are to a degree worried about deadline of foreign military withdrawal in 2014. Frequently high government and opposition figures talk possible chaos. Considering the situation in the most optimistic way, the political truck should be driven in cautious way.

So, every step should be assessed in order to bring under control the consequences of foreign military withdrawal. It is widely believed that any wrong step may once again set in fire the hidden deep down communal antagonism. Such risks can only be diminished to well-calculated political steps.

This brief was all about possible measures of lower house and likely consequences, but let's see why respected MPs are so angry about the financial report of ministries which is of course not new considering their background during past eleven years.

Definitely, by the move they tried to draw a more public face for the parliament. They wanted to show that parliament is with people and indeed pressure government to get people's rights from its larynx. Would such step change the concept of people towards parliament who generally draw clear distinction between executive and judiciary? Because the parliament also does not have any heart-catching things in its profile.

One of the ministers who likely will be summoned in the parliament is Bismillah Mohammadi, the current defense minister. He, previously as the interior minister, was disqualified by Parliament.

Surprisingly, early this year, he was summoned and disqualified over claimed Pakistani cross border rocket firings and subsequently approved by the very parliament to continue as defense minister which is of higher importance comparatively. Certainly, such contradictory initiatives of MPs are disappointing and summoning and disqualifying cabinet ministers would not, in real sense, restore the prestige of parliament.