The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill during a ruckus-marred session attended by political heavyweights, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
The bill was passed by a two-way voting process — voting by division and clause-by-clause voting. Presented in the house for voting by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the bill will now be referred back to the Senate for the new amendments to be debated upon again and then will be passed by the upper house. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said the bill received 234 votes in favour and four against.
The National Assembly has passed the Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) bill, 2025, envisaging the establishment of federal constitutional court with equal provincial representation.
The constitutional amendment comprising 59 clauses was moved by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. Two hundred and thirty four members voted in favour of the bill, which is not less than the two-thirds of the total membership of the House.
As per the amendment, the federal constitutional court will hear cases relating to constitutional matters and interpretation of the constitution. The permanent seat of the Federal Constitutional Court shall be at Islamabad.
According to the constitutional amendment, the president may transfer a judge of a high court from one high court to another high court on the recommendations of and on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. For this purpose, the chief justices of both high courts shall also be members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.
As per the amendment, the President shall, on advice of the Prime Minister, appoint the Chief of the Army Staff concurrently, the Chief of the Defense Forces. The appointment of the chief of air staff and chief of naval staff will be made on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee shall stand abolished with effect from the twenty-seventh day of November 2025. The Prime Minister shall, on the recommendation of the Chief of the Army Staff concurrently the Chief of the Defense Forces, appoint the Commander of the National Strategic Command from the members of Pakistan Army and shall also determine his salaries and allowances.
Where the Federal Government promotes a member of the Armed Forces to the rank of Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force or Admiral of the Fleet, such officer shall retain the rank, privileges and remain in uniform for life.
Upon completion of the term of his command, under the law, the Federal Government shall determine the responsibilities and duties of Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force or Admiral of the Fleet in the interest of the State.
According to the constitutional amendment, no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be initiated or continued against the president for his life and for a governor during his term of office in any court. These provisions shall not be applicable during the period the President holds a public office after he ceases to be the President.
National Assembly Secretariat has sent the 27th Amendment Bill to the Senate as National Assembly had approved the bill with some amendments.The Senate is likely to approve the Constitutional Amendment Bill tomorrow.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz thanked the lawmakers on his behalf and that of the nation. The prime minister also paid tribute to deceased PML-N senator Irfan Siddiqui, hailing him as the teacher and lauded his loyalty to PML-N president Nawaz.
Coming to the 27th Amendment, the prime minister thanked President Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz, Bilawal and other allies. He said the amendment had become part of the Constitution after the consultation process, adding that the Charter of Democracy had always envisioned a constitutional court and now that “dream” was fulfilled.
He condemned the attempt by terrorists to carry out an incident in Wana, saying the event made one think of the Army Public School massacre. PM Shehbaz said, “these khawarij, in which unfortunately Afghans were also involved, were all sent to hell and all cadets, students and teachers were safely rescued. I want to congratulate the nation on this and want to thank the army and law enforcement agencies who exhibited professionalism and saved the nation’s youth”.
PM Shehbaz addressed the suicide blast in Islamabad and said it was no hidden matter now that the hand of terrorists was plain to see in such incidents. Referring to his statement yesterday in which he had blamed Indian involvement, the Fitna al-Khawarij and said “footprints of Afghanistan are also seen”, the prime minister said India had subsequently issued remarks rubbishing the allegations.
“I don’t need to say a lot. The terrorists who abducted a train in Balochistan, the Jaffer Express, we brought its evidence before the whole world how TTP and BLA were active from Afghanistan and were in contact with terrorists there and also with their supporters in India. “We presented these facts before the whole world and no one challenged or rebutted them.”
The prime minister said the notion that Pakistan’s terrorist enemies were not involved in the attacks was akin to calling day as night and vice versa.
Earlier, voting by division has begun for the 27th Constitutional Amendment bill in the National Assembly on Wednesday, after the conclusion of clause-by-clause voting after passing the motion in the National Assembly with a two-thirds majority, reported 24NewsHD TV Channel.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are also present while Opposition lawmakers stage walkout of the session.
Law Minister Nazeer Tarar said that consultation with the legal fraternity showed that there was confusion about the continuity of the chief justice of Pakistan’s position. “To remove this confusion, I will introduce an appropriate amendment in which it will be clarified that the current CJP … will remain the CJP,” he added. However, after the retirement of Justice Yahya Afridi, the senior most judge among the Supreme Court and Consittuional Court will be declared as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
He also mentioned Article 6 of the Constitution, saying that, as per the 18th Amendment, neither the Supreme Court nor any high court could ratify the abrogation of the Constitution.
Although the Senate has already passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, the federal government has decided to propose additional amendments to the legislation before its approval from the National Assembly, where lawmakers are delivering speeches about the bill.
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had stated that further amendments to the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill being made to remove doubts regarding the CJP.
“There is no technical issue in the new amendment, and it will be approved by the House today,” Tarar said. He added that if any further changes were required, the revised version would be presented in the Senate again.
“Please read Clause 239 of the bill passed by the Senate — where there is any ambiguity, it must be corrected,” the minister explained. “Only Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution. We will bring the amendment before the House today, hold a debate, and, God willing, secure its approval,” the minister elaborated.
Tarar also emphasized that the authority to introduce an amendment rests with the minister and does not require prior cabinet approval.
Changes in Article 6 and CJP title proposed
The proposed changes in the amendment bill include replacing the term 'Chief Justice' with 'Chief Justice of Pakistan'. Law Minister said CJP Justice Yahya Afridi will remain chief justice of the apex court.
The sources also revealed that amendments have been decided regarding the article related to high treason. Clause 2-A of Article 6 will be revised, and the Federal Constitutional Court will be mentioned alongside the Supreme Court.
After the National Assembly’s approval, the amendments are expected to be presented in the Senate tomorrow. The ruling coalition has directed all senators to ensure their presence in tomorrow’s session.
Bilawal promises NA speech amid opponents' criticism
Outside the Parliament House, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, when asked by reporters whether the amendment was intended to benefit a specific individual, assured that he would address the issue during his speech in the Assembly.
When another journalist pointed out that the PPP was facing strong criticism over the 27th Amendment, Bilawal responded calmly, saying, “The PPP has always been criticised.”
Later, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari chaired a meeting of the PPP’s parliamentary party in the Parliament building, which was also attended by the First Lady, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari.
The National Assembly session began earlier in the day, with the 27th Amendment Bill on the agenda for approval. Law Minister Azam Tarar was due to table the bill in the Lower House of the Parliament.
Meanwhile, addressing members during the session, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq once again offered talks to the opposition, saying he was ready to facilitate talks between the government and the opposition so that there could be a way out of the present situation.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had on several occasions extended an olive branch to the opposition from the floor of the House.
“Similarly, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, too, has offered talks to the opposition. Let me tell you, present tensions will lead us nowhere.”
The speaker was of the view that even if talks remained unproductive on the first day, they would produce results in days to come.
He went on to say that he knew how to bring both the government and the opposition to the negotiating table. “I have twice defeated your leader,” Sadiq said while referring to former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.
“Even no petition was filed against the election held in my constituency on February 8,” the speaker said and added, “How on earth can the opposition say that the ruling coalition does not represent the masses?” he questioned.
Today’s National Assembly agenda also includes the presentation of the Danish Schools Authority Bill and the King Hammad University Bill by Federal Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
Earlier, speaking to reporters outside Parliament House, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar expressed confidence that the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill would be passed during the session.
He said, “If the amendment is presented in the National Assembly today, it will definitely be passed.” He lamented that the opposition did not participate in detailed discussions, saying that mere noise without reviewing the content of the bill “serves no purpose.”
Attaullah Tarar also paid tribute to the Pakistan Army for rescuing over 500 cadets during the recent operation at Wana Cadet College. “It was a historic operation—one that will be remembered and studied in military academies worldwide,” he said. “Our message to the enemies of Pakistan is clear: we once defeated a neighbour four times our size—we cannot be intimidated by its proxies.”
Opposition proposes 11 changes to 27th Amendment
As the government is determined to get the 27th Constitutional Amendment passed by the National Assembly (NA) today, the opposition has proposed 11 changes to the amendment.
Sources that the changes proposed by the opposition were against the amendments affecting the structure of the superior judiciary.
The opposition, they informed, had also drafted proposals against the immunity granted to the president and other government officials.
Reporter: Usman Khan