The standing committees on law and justice of both houses of Parliament approved on Sunday the draft of a bill for a 27th Constitutional Amendment after some changes, Senator Farooq H. Naek told reporters after a meeting that was convened to deliberate on the proposed changes.
He said that he and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had been authorised to make changes to some clauses of the bill, without sharing anymore details about the said clauses.
Meanwhile, Senate session debates draft of 27th Constitutional Amendment amid Opposition's protest who have termed the legislation against the true spirit of 1973 Constitution.
The standing committees of National Assembly and Senate on Law and Justices approved Article 243 after detailed consultations, which is a a key step in the process for proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment. Currently, Article 243 of the Constitution entrusts the President of Pakistan with the supreme command of the armed forces, while stipulating that their control and command shall rest with the federal government.
PTI members create ruckus in Senate while Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told the opposition to listen the speech of the speaker and take care of the sanctity of the house. Ishaq Dar requested Opposition to give a lecture after the session ends.
Dar told the Senate that the idea of the Constitutional Court was discussed in the meeting with Benazir Bhutto and on May 13, 2006, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto signed an agreement. He said the Constitutional Court point is also mentioned in the Charter of Democracy. Dar said PTI founder and other leaders have signed documents stating that there should be a Constitutional Court.
PPP Senator Naek said that basic draft of the legislation has been approved however, some amendments have been suggested in the draft. Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar has said that Joint Parliamentary Committee report to be presented in Senate on Monday. The committees have completed deliberations on the majority of the clauses of the draft, including Article 243, which was approved after extensive review, sources said on Sunday.
The sources further confirmed that the joint committees will take final decisions on additional amendments by tomorrow. The government has requested extra time to review proposals regarding renaming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and increasing provincial assembly seats in Balochistan.
“Both proposals will undergo further consideration, and final decisions are expected tomorrow,” the sources added. The consultations are a pre-requisite step, needed to be taken before finally presenting the 27th Amendment’s draft for approval in the Parliament.
The Joint Committee of the Senate and National Assembly on Law and Justice began its session earlier today, chaired by senators Farooq H Naik and MNA Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk.
Opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), and Majlis-e-Wahdatul-Muslimeen (MWM), boycotted the session as their members did not turn up for the meeting.
Earlier, on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the proposal to grant PM an immunity from criminal prosecution was withdrawn by PML-N. In his post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the premier said that certainly an elected prime minister was answerable to the masses for his deeds. He said that an amendment relating to his immunity was not included in the draft of the 27th Amendment passed by the federal cabinet.
They informed that the committee had completed its consultations on all sections of Article 209 of the constitution, while ANP, BNP and MQM-P, parties part of the coalition government, had put forward three more amendments.
The committee approved the suggestion to extend the deadline for a decision on a pending petition from six months to one year.
The ANP, on the other hand, put forward an amendment before the committee, calling for a change in the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to Pakhtunkhwa only.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has intensified efforts to ensure the smooth passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate, inviting government and allied senators to a key consultative meeting scheduled for this evening, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Sunday.
According to parliamentary sources, invitations have been sent to senators representing coalition parties for discussions aimed at achieving complete consensus on the proposed amendment before it is tabled for approval.
The meeting will review progress made so far in the ongoing deliberations within the joint standing committees on law and justice.
Officials confirmed that the Prime Minister will also host a dinner in honour of government and allied senators later tonight at the Prime Minister’s House.
The gathering is expected to serve as an opportunity for final coordination among coalition partners on the amendment’s text and voting strategy in the upper house.
The session follows yesterday’s joint sitting of both committees, which began clause-by-clause consideration of the proposed amendment. The committees decided to carry out an extensive review to ensure all provisions of the bill are thoroughly examined before approval.
Yesterday’s meeting was co-chaired by Senator Farooq H Naek and MNA Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk. While most political parties attended, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) boycotted the session in protest. However, former federal minister Ejaz-ul-Haq participated via video link.
After the meeting, Senator Farooq H Naek told reporters that consensus has been achieved on nearly 80 percent of the proposed amendment, while the remaining points are expected to be finalised today.
He said that several political parties had already agreed on Article 175, relating to the appointment of judges.
Naek expressed optimism that the legislation would only move forward once complete consensus was reached among all parties. “The consultation will continue until there is a hundred percent agreement,” he said, confirming the stance of the Federal Minister for Law.
The PPP leader added that members from across party lines had presented their opinions and suggestions, all of which were being reviewed carefully.
He urged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other opposition parties to actively participate in the process “in the national interest,” emphasizing that the views of both government and opposition must be placed on record.
Speaking separately to the media, PPP senior leader Naveed Qamar said the government had accepted several of the PPP’s proposals, while others were still under examination.
He noted that no decision had yet been made regarding proposals submitted by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Qamar stressed that no new proposals should be rushed, saying the PPP preferred to focus on discussions of earlier submissions to ensure a well-considered outcome.
Reporters: Amanat Gishkori and Tayyab Saif