Parliament cannot be prevented from doing legislation before it takes place, PTI Senator Ali Zafar has said while speaking about petitions against the controversial “constitutional package” of the government.

He was responding to a question about whether proposed constitutional amendments could be halted in courts prior to being legislated in Parliament. The PTI senator was on Rubaroo which was aired on Aaj News on Thursday.

Described as the “26th Constitutional Amendment”, the intended legislation was set to propose a fixed three-year tenure for the chief justice of Pakistan. Although the legislation was initially scheduled to be introduced in the National Assembly and Senate on Monday, the government was unable to present it over the weekend despite intensive efforts to secure the necessary support. The government failed to convince Fazl after hours of efforts to woo him.

On Wednesday, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman rejected the proposed constitutional amendments and laid out his party’s stance on the issue.

According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the constitutional amendment circulating on media was provisional and not finalized until it receives cabinet approval.

“In my view, you cannot stop Parliament from legislating before the time, because if you do, it would undermine our entire parliamentary system,” Zafar said.

Despite this, he acknowledged that senior lawyers have filed petitions against the proposed constitutional amendments in the courts. He said: “You cannot tell anyone not to try.”

The PTI senator also pointed out a recent instance where the Supreme Court issued a stay order regarding a particular law, instructing Parliament not to pass it at that time. He mentioned that while the law was still in bill form and had not been enacted, the SC’s ruling served as a precedent.

Zafar expressed concerns that if a court were to issue a stay order on any law in advance, it would complicate the functioning of the democratic system.

When asked about the National Assembly speaker’s letter to the chief election commissioner over reserved seats, he stated that it was the Election Commission of Pakistan’s responsibility to make decisions according to the Constitution and the law. He clarified that if the NA speaker suggested a decision based on a specific law, the ECP was not obligated to comply.

Earlier in the day, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, requesting that reserved seats be allocated while “maintaining the autonomy of Parliament” in accordance with directives from the Supreme Court.

He added that the ECP was bound by Article 175 (Establishment and Jurisdiction of Courts) of the Constitution to follow the Supreme Court orders. “If the Supreme Court of Pakistan issues an order, whether it is favourable or unfavourable, right or wrong, every institution is required to comply and act accordingly,” Zafar said.