Minister of State for the Interior Tallal Chaudhry said on Saturday that the ruling coalition could introduce another constitutional amendment if necessary to “maintain stability” in the country.
His comments come just three days after the 27th Amendment became law following its approval by the National Assembly and the Senate, amid strong opposition from opposition parties.
See this post on Instagram
Chaudhry insisted that the 26th and 27th amendments brought “stability” to the country and said: “If another amendment is needed to maintain this stability, we will definitely bring it together with other parties.”
“Parliament will bring amendments whenever it wants, and parliament should do so. Parliament should be seen as a parliament,” the PML-N leader said during a press conference in Faisalabad, Punjab.
Responding to a question, Chaudhry called the recent resignations of high court judges “political.”
On November 13, the day the 27th Amendment was enacted, then Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah resigned, decrying the legislation as an “assault” on the Constitution and a weakening of the judiciary.
A day later, Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza resigned from the Lahore High Court, also citing the 27th Amendment as a reason, and the Islamabad High Court could also see some departures.
The Minister of State stated that amending the Constitution was a right of Parliament.
“Judges take oath according to the Constitution; they are not a political party who will resign if the Constitution is amended,” the PML-N leader said. “The Constitution will not be the one that conforms to their (the judges’) wishes, but to those of the parliament and the people of Pakistan,” he said.
“All matters (of judges), from their salaries to their decisions, are decided by parliament,” the state minister said.
Furthermore, he accused senior judges who resigned of being “biased” and making “political” judgments.
“There have been many extensions of ‘nice to see you’, but the atmosphere is not the same anymore,” Chaudhry quipped, referring to the famous comment made by former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial in May 2023, when he said “nice to see you” to former Prime Minister Imran Khan at his court appearance.
The PML-N leader lamented the judges’ alleged excessive use of suo-motus (the SC’s power to take cognizance of matters of public importance, but which has now been revoked under the 27th Amendment) to “send prime ministers home” and attack the government on a whim.
On the PTI’s decision to boycott the upcoming by-elections in Faisalabad, Chaudhry said the party did not want to contest where there was considerable opposition.
By-elections for two National Assembly (NA-96, NA-104) and three provincial (PP-98, PP-115, PP-116) seats in Faisalabad district are scheduled for November 23.
The PML-N is likely to win all five seats thanks to the PTI boycott, the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is not in a position to contest due to the recent ban and the PPP is not fielding any candidate.
