Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that the much-talked-about 27th Constitutional Amendment will be introduced in Parliament soon.
Speculation and debate over a possible 27th Constitutional Amendment reached a fever pitch on Monday after the PPP claimed that the government had sought its support for proposed changes to the Constitution.
The proposed changes have sparked a national debate, with political parties weighing their positions amid concerns that the measure could roll back some powers granted under the historic 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The opposition PTI has announced its intention to oppose the proposed amendment “tooth and nail”.
Addressing the issue in the Senate session today, the deputy prime minister said: “Of course, the government is bringing it and will bring it… the 27th Amendment will come… and it is about to come. We will try to get it brought in accordance with the principles, laws and the Constitution.”
He assured the opposition that the amendment would go through the necessary steps, such as intense debate in Parliament and subcommittees.
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“The Government has no reservations against anything. It will not be that the amendment is presented and voted on in a disorderly and ad hoc manner; this will not happen,” said PTI senator Barrister Ali Zafar.
Dar said the government was following the “standard process” of legislative activity and said it was consulting the PPP for now as it was the government’s biggest ally. “I’ve had at least three rounds [of consultations] and the Minister of Justice has also carried out (consultations),” he added.
The deputy prime minister added that the government would also reach out to its other allies and take them into account before tabling the amendment document.
Referring to PPP president Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s X post announcing that the government had approached his party on the issue, Dar said he had full right to post on the matter.
“The areas you identified are not up in the air. Let me also confess that there have been discussions about those issues.”
He urged Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar for the amendment to be tabled in the Senate first as it had more “professionalism and valuable input” than the National Assembly.
Dar also urged Senate Vice President Syedaal Khan Nasar to request Senate President Yousuf Raza Gilani to appoint the opposition leader in the Upper House soon.
He assured that the process for the amendment would be “transparent.” Dar added that other stakeholders would also be consulted on the amendment.
The deputy prime minister also addressed the current situation with Afghanistan and lamented the persistent deterioration in relations despite what he said were his own rapprochement efforts, as well as those of Pakistan in general.
Explaining the reasons for the above development, he criticized the government in power around 2021 for “doing so much outreach that we go there and say, ‘I’m here to have a cup of tea’… but that cup of tea turned out to be very expensive for us. That cup of tea opened the borders again, the 35,000 to 40,000 Taliban who had fled from here returned and the government of that time released 100 hardened criminals who had burned the Pakistani flag”. in Swat and martyred hundreds of people. “This was the biggest mistake.”
Dar said problems had increased so much for the country that it had regressed to 2012. Referring to ongoing negotiations with Afghanistan, Dar said Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi called him six times a day earlier.
“I told him: ‘We only ask one thing of you: that there be no terrorist activities from your soil in our country and even you have brought me to that point where a supporter like me who wants to help you and hold your hand as an Islamic country, a neighbor and according to Islam is defenseless.’”
Two-thirds majority
A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers. In the 336-member National Assembly, the ruling coalition has 233 members, while the opposition has 103. Within the coalition, the PML-N has 125 seats, the PPP 74, the MQM 22, the PML-Q five, the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party four and the PML-Z, the Balochistan Awami Party and the National People’s Party one seat each.
In the 96-member Senate, the ruling coalition does not enjoy the two-thirds majority of 64 senators needed to pass a constitutional amendment. With 61 senators, the coalition would need at least three opposition votes to ensure approval. In such situations, the government often turns to the JUI-F for support.
