Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice Chairman Farooq H. Naek on Monday presented a report on the 27th Constitutional Amendment bill before the Senate.
A joint meeting of the standing committees on law and justice of the National Assembly and the Senate yesterday approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment bill with minor changes amid an opposition boycott.
Naek today presented the report in the Senate, chaired by President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani. After that, Gilani asked that opposition members also be called to the house, noting that Naek would now give more details about the report.
Earlier today, the Senate session began with Senator Manzoor Kakar presiding over the proceedings in the absence of President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani.
At first he said that some speeches on the constitutional amendment could not be delivered yesterday and that proceedings would begin today with those speeches. He then gave the floor to Agha Shahzaib Durrani of the PML-N, whose speech was repeatedly interrupted by the opposition benches.
During his speech, Durrani mentioned that the opposition had questioned the need for a constitutional court. He justified this need by citing the backlog of cases in the Supreme Court. Durrani also chastised the opposition, particularly the PTI, for “abolishing democracy” and “turning the Presidential House into an ordinance factory” during his tenure.
His speech was followed by that of the PPP’s Zamir Hussain Ghumro, who rejected opposition criticism that the 27th Amendment was a “9/11 in Pakistan”. He defended the planned establishment of the constitutional court, claiming that the SC had not been performing its “original function but enforcing fundamental rights, which is a function of the high courts.”
“The Supreme Court has been interfering in [matters of] “Parliament and the executive,” he stated, further justifying the need for the Constitutional Court. “It will not only strengthen the independence of the judiciary but also that of the federation,” he argued.
Regarding the proposed changes to Article 243, which deals with the command of the armed forces, he recalled the recent conflict with India in May. “The chief of army staff, the field marshal, won a war for Pakistan,” he said, adding that he deserved immunity from criminal prosecution and arrest.
“What’s the problem with this? You want to drag your heroes through the streets and the courts?” he questioned.
He added that the PPP believed the 27th Amendment would be a “milestone in the advancement of democracy, the Constitution and the 18th Amendment.”
After Ghumro concluded his speech, PTI’s Fawzia Arshad noted that an opposition leader had not yet been notified in the Senate. The post has been vacant since the disqualification of Shibli Faraz from the PTI in August.
Arshad said the fact that the notification was pending was a denial of the PTI’s legislative rights.
He also attacked the proposed 27th Amendment and its proponents, saying that “institutions are being trampled and their rights are being taken away.”
Meanwhile, Amir Waliuddin Chishti of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) said his party was promised changes to Articles 142 (advocate general of a province) and 140-A (local government) under the 27th Amendment.
“Now, after two days, I hear that although the amendments were discussed, it is said that they could be included in the 28th Amendment,” he added.
PML-N Senator Khalil Tahir Sindhu also referred to the May conflict and said: “The entire nation won the war. The media and the opposition also won. Everyone did. But under whose leadership? General Syed Asim Munir sahib.”
Senator Sindhu joked that it was not as if a land was being named after the army chief, but only an honorary title was being given to him. He claimed that all Commonwealth nations had officers who remained in uniform for life.
He also highlighted Field Marshal Munir’s role in “trade and foreign affairs while accompanying the prime minister” on multiple visits.
The PML-N leader dismissed concerns over the 27th Amendment as “frivolous and fabricated”, stating that there was nothing contradictory to the Constitution in it.
Kakar later stopped the proceedings and said the house would meet again at 3.30 pm.
talking to Sunrise On condition of anonymity, a key minister said the government planned to pass the bill today, “no matter what.”
‘He will make sure the amendment does not pass’
Meanwhile, PTI Senator Ali Zafar told the media in Parliament that the opposition would ensure that the amendment would not be passed if the government did not have the necessary numbers.
“They may not be able to present it today,” he said in statements to the media.
He further said that the opposition was against granting immunity from criminal process to anyone. “We are saying that if someone has committed a crime, be it a president or a governor, that they be punished according to the law and the Constitution,” he said.
However, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar defended the inclusion of a clause to grant the president lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution and arrest under the proposed amendment.
“Heads of state enjoy immunity around the world. This is an election, and this system prevails around the world. […] I think there is nothing wrong with this,” he stated before the media, and also welcomed the prime minister’s decision not to apply the immunity clause.
The minister further stated that the amendment was aimed at “good governance”, improving the federation’s relations with the provinces and strengthening defence.” He said that constitutional courts also exist in other parts of the world, adding that this was also included in the Charter of Democracy signed in 2006.
Tarar said the demand for constitutional courts was jointly filed by the PML-N, the PPP and the Awami National Party, and that the Constitution was a living document that continued to evolve.
He stated that the government had the necessary votes and described the amendment as “positive” and in line with international practices.
How many votes are needed?
A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament. Therefore, when the bill is put to a vote in the Senate, which is made up of 96 members, it will need the support of at least 64 senators.
The ruling coalition has 65 votes in the Senate, with 26 from the PPP, 20 from the PML-N, four from the Balochistan Awami Party, three from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, three from the National Awami Party, one from the National Party, one from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and seven from independent legislators.
However, this does not guarantee the passage of the amendment bill in the Senate, as these votes also include those of Gilani, who cannot cast his vote as the president of the Senate, and Irfan Siddiqui of the PML-N, whose vote cannot be guaranteed because he is hospitalized.
After its approval in the Senate, the bill must also be voted on in the National Assembly (AN), which will also meet today at 4:30 p.m.
In the 336-member National Assembly, the ruling coalition enjoys a two-thirds majority. It has 233 members, while the opposition has 103. Within the coalition, the PML-N has 125 seats, the PPP 74, the MQM-P 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.
Approval by parliamentary committees
The bill, which was introduced by Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the Senate on Saturday amid opposition protest and hours after getting the nod from the federal cabinet, aims to establish a federal constitutional court and grant life-long status to the rank of field marshal.
On Sunday, a joint meeting of the standing committees on law and justice of the National Assembly and the Senate approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment bill with minor changes amid an opposition boycott.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also attended the meeting, said all key amendments, including changes to Article 243, which states that the federal government “shall have control and command of the armed forces” and refers to the military command structure, were amicably approved by both committees.
Senator Naek, who chaired the meeting, said the bill was adopted with minor changes. He said the committees gave him and the Minister of Justice power to make a couple of amendments.
The committees, however, deferred the proposal of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which sought to amend Article 140 which refers to local governments, as well as the recommendation of the Awami National Party (ANP) to change the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The ANP had moved a proposal to change the name of the province by deleting ‘Khyber’, arguing that Khyber was a district and other provinces did not include district names in their titles. Likewise, the amendment proposed by the Balochistan National Party to increase the province’s seats in Parliament was also postponed.
Earlier in the day, ANP’s Hidayatullah Khan told reporters that the committee had asked for time until Monday to decide on his party’s suggestion to change the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice told reporters that it had been decided that the provinces would be considered confidential when changing the name of KP.
Prime Minister strikes down immunity clause
A proposal for immunity for the prime minister was also included in the 27th Amendment bill, but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered its withdrawal, saying the prime minister must remain “fully responsible.”
“Upon my return from Azerbaijan, I learned that some senators belonging to our party have tabled an amendment on the prime minister’s immunity,” he said in a post on the X social media platform.
“While I acknowledge their good faith intention, the proposal was not part of the draft approved by the Cabinet. I have ordered its withdrawal immediately,” Prime Minister Shehbaz said.
“As a matter of principle, an elected prime minister must remain fully accountable, both to the courts and to the people,” he said.
Later in the day, the prime minister also hosted a dinner for senators from the coalition parties at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad and congratulated them on the passage of the 27th Amendment Bill by the joint parliamentary committee.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said he was grateful to the heads of all allied parties and President Asif Ali Zardari.
“All of us made unified efforts to strengthen the federation, for the broader interests of the country, to increase harmony between provinces and improve governance,” he said.
