In a significant political move, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced that it will boycott the Senate vote on the 27th Constitutional Amendment, following consultations with Mehmood Khan Achakzai, leader of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), on Monday.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the decision was taken during a meeting of PTI’s parliamentary party in the Senate, presided over by Senator Ali Zafar.
The session was attended by several senior leaders, including Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Senator Humayun Mohmand, and Senator Faisal Javed, among others.
In the meeting, the PTI leadership directed all its senators not to remain in the house during the voting process.
The decision aligns with the stance of the opposition parties’ alliance, Tahreek Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), which has declared the 27th Amendment “unconstitutional” and announced a complete boycott of the vote.
Party sources said the PTI’s parliamentary party convened two separate sessions before finalising its strategy.
After the first session, the senators met Mehmood Khan Achakzai to seek guidance, and upon returning, held a second meeting where the final decision to boycott was made.
During the discussions with Achakzai, the opposition leaders also reviewed their future strategy for the notification of opposition leadership in both the Senate and the National Assembly, besides deliberating on the broader political implications of the 27th amendment.
The PTI and its allies within the TTAP alliance have maintained that the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment undermines the spirit of the Constitution, vowing to resist it both inside and outside Parliament.
Reporter: Tayyab Saif