SOCIALISM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN PAKISTAN
Muhammad Ali Jan

The past one and a half year has seen an enormous regeneration of
political life in Pakistan. What began as a protest by lawyers
against the unconstitutional sacking of the Chief Justice of Pakistan
by the then President/COAS General Musharraf, quickly became (as
these things usually become, being reflections of the myriad
contradictions of class society) a democratic struggle for the ouster
of the Military dictator. The fervour of the streets shall forever
remain engrained in our collective memory; the marching men and women
in black and white, the slogans, the bleeding heads, the determined
faces; the end of the dictator is surely the crowning achievement of
these brave men and women.

However, the battle on the streets was always accompanied by the
battle on the ideological front, with the meanings of various terms
being hotly contested by all sides of the political spectrum. Today,
almost all parties are unanimous in their call for the 'Restoration
of the 1973 Constitution' whether in government or in the opposition.
However, what is missing from the 'restoration' discourse is the idea
of Socialism, already engrained in the constitution, but seldom
invoked by its defenders. Perhaps this had to do with the nature of
the historic blocs (to use Gramsci's term) dominant within the
movement, whose class interests are tied to the existence of private
property, but it would be a mistake for all those interested in the
broad democratization of society (including many lawyers themselves)
not to evoke this term; it would be a genuine test of revealing how
far the defenders of the Constitution will go before the various
class interests within this seemingly homogeneous group are throughly
revealed; in short, it would unravel not just the committment of
those in government to the 1973 Constitution, but also those who vow
to struggle against it.

Background to Article 3: The PPP and Socialism

As many of you know that the PPP rode to power in the wake of the
anti-Ayub movement of 1968-69. This was the height of the Vietnam War
(the Tet Offensive had taken place in 1968), the Chinese Cultural
Revolution and the Anti-Imperialist movement in the heartland of
Imperialism, i.e. the USA. In Pakistan, the movement was lead by the
radical sections of the petty-bourgeoise strata with its allies in
the working class and the peasantry. Seeing which way the movement
was turning, the PPP put the popular slogan 'Maang Raha Hai Har
Insaan - Roti, Kapra aur Makaan' (Every human being is demanding
Bread, Clothing and Shelter!) as well as the slogan of 'Socialism
avay hee avay' (Socialism is bound to come!). The inclusion of what
became the socialism clause are to read against this background and
it is immaterial how much the PPP remained true to its word, the
point is that the term occupies a central place within the
constitution and it is important for its defenders to entreat it.

Article 3 and Karl Marx

The 'Socialism clause' is Article 3 of the Constitution (above clause
6 for High treason that no one tires of mentioned!)
entitled 'Elimination of exploitation' and reads:

"The State shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation
and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each
according to his ability, to each according to his work."

The above quote is taken from Marx's classic work 'The Critique of
the Gotha Program' where he explicates how the principle of "from
each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" can
only be realized in the Classless, Stateless Communist society where
material production abounds and for socialist society, arising fresh
out of the birth pangs of Capitalism, a better measure would be 'from
each according to his ability, to each according to the labour
performed'. Consequently, the above phrase was included as the
cornerstone of the Constitution of the USSR, the first Socialist
Country on earth. Despite not actually materializing, Socialism is
definitely a part of our constitution.

Conclusion: 'Restoration' and Socialism

It is therefore abundantly clear that the question of the restoration
of the 1973 Constitution is invariably tied to the question of
Socialism in Pakistan. The fact that it has not been mentioned within
the numerous debates of the past one year may tell us something about
the class composition of the Lawyers movement; it may also explain
why the broad masses of the workers and peasants of Pakistan,
although definitely inspired by the heroic struggle of the lawyers
and their allies, have not actively participated in the Defence of
the Constitution. The Radicals in the Democratic movement need to
bring Article 3 to the fore in order to connect the Constitutional
question with the popular classes, as well as to see whether the
class loyalties of the 'Constitutionalists' take precedence over
their Defence of the Constitution. Any Takers?