The federal cabinet meeting on Friday ended without any decision on constitutional amendment as the government tried to engage its leaders on the judicial reforms, sources said.
It is expected that the cabinet meeting would be convened again tomorrow (Saturday). There were “some reasons” or “technical issues” related to the draft, sources told Aaj News.
The government tried to engage its members, however, it failed to present the constitutional amendment in the Senate on Friday despite its announcement.
It is expected to be tabled tomorrow.
A nine-point agenda for the National Assembly session was issued on Friday, which notably does not include the constitutional amendment. It is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 3pm.
If consensus is reached, the constitutional amendment will be presented as a supplementary agenda, according to sources.
A motion will be introduced to suspend the regular agenda for the consideration of the constitutional amendment, they added.
The report from the standing committee on the Legal Aid and Justice Authority (Amendment) Bill will be presented during the meeting, and the bill itself will be submitted for approval. The agenda includes a notice of attention regarding irregularities in the collection of general sales tax, as well as a notice addressing Pakistan Railways’ failure to make timely salary payments to employees.
PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui informed the Senate that the draft of the constitutional amendment bill has been unanimously approved by the parliamentary committee, with no dissenting votes recorded.
He noted that PTI’s Amir Dogar also did not express any disagreement. Siddiqui emphasised the desire to engage Maulana Fazlur Rehman not just for voting but to bring him along in the process.
He stated that the government has “not rushed the matter” of constitutional amendment and claimed that there was no political gain for them in this amendment. “We seek judicial reforms and hope that all parties, including the PTI, will be part of this effort,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Talal Chaudhry from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz commented on the Supreme Court’s recent clarification, stating that it has further complicated the court’s decision. He argued that the clarification “appears to strengthen one party and is causing judges to become controversial themselves.”
The special parliamentary committee has unanimously accepted the constitutional package, committee head Syed Khursheed Shah said on Friday.
“The committee has unanimously accepted the bill that was presented today,” he told reporters after the meeting in Islamabad.
The Senate and National Assembly were scheduled to meet this evening, as the government planned to advance the proposed package. The constitutional package includes several amendments, notably an extension of the chief justice’s term.
Formed last month, the special parliamentary committee includes representatives from all political parties, including the PTI. Various proposals have been reviewed, and the PPP publicly released its draft on October 11, subsequently reaching an agreement with the JUI-F.
Described as the 26th constitutional amendment, the legislation aims to change the process of appointments of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Many legal experts are concerned that such proposed changes could undermine the independence of the judiciary by limiting the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to only civil and criminal appeals or petitions.
But ruling parties made significant progress on Wednesday in securing the backing of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for their proposed judicial reform package.
According to sources, the draft includes amendments to Article 48 (president to act on advice, etc), further shaping the future of Pakistan’s constitutional framework. It also touches on Article 63-A (disqualification on grounds of defection, etc) following the Supreme Court’s verdict on the defection law earlier this month.
Shah, who is leading the discussions on the much-discussed legislation, stated that a consensus has been reached among members.
The senior PPP leader said the draft was sent to the federal cabinet for approval. When asked about the package being presented in Parliament today, he said that would only happen after the cabinet passed it.
He went on to add that the committee also unanimously recommended the cabinet to take up the matter related to overseas Pakistanis, giving them the right to contest elections.
“When they win elections, they will have to revoke their citizenship of the second country,” the PPP leader said and added that it would be approved if the cabinet approves.
In response to a question, Shah said that he was not aware of the reason why ANP leader Aimal Wali did not attend the meeting.
“The rest of the amendments will be taken in the next talks,” he said.
Moreover, the PPP leader said that he did not know about the Supreme Court’s decision on reserved case decision.
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MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar also spoke on the same wavelength and agreed with Shah’s statement.
Sources told Aaj News that ANP’s Wali did not turn up for the meeting as his demand to change the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa name was not accepted. The ANP demanded the name to be shortened to “Pakhtunkhwa”.
Sattar told reporters that another meeting of the special committee was not scheduled so far.
