Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had claimed that the 19th Constitutional Amendment was brought under duress and accused ex-chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry of putting pressure on the government.

“This is the opportunity to make broad amendments to the Constitution to resolve issues,” he said while appearing on Rubaroo which was aired on Aaj News on Friday.

Abbasi was responding to a query related to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s demand to scrap the 19th Constitutional Amendment and bring back Parliament’s role in judicial reforms.

The religio-political leader’s comments were in the context of a constitutional amendment that the ruling coalition plans to introduce this month.

The former prime minister advised the government to not “make matters more complex” by bringing the amendment in haste. “The process of judges’ selection should be transparent and effective,” he said and added that judges should be appointed after open public scrutiny.

According to Abbasi, the 18th Constitutional Amendment also needed review.

When asked, he said that the PTI’s decision to protest on October 15—when the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit will be held in the federal capital—was an “irresponsible” decision.

“It takes two to tango,” he said and called for dialogue to resolve issues.

In response to a question, Abbasi said that speculation would not have arisen if Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa had clarified about his tenure.

Moreover, he called for making the constitutional amendment draft public so that the people could read it. “Once in parliamentary committee, it becomes a public document,” he said and added that the government should take as many days as it wants to tweak the law.

According to him, bringing amendments after October 25—when CJP Isa would retire—would not make any changes. The former prime minister was in favour of the constitutional bench.