ISLAMABAD, NOV 12: /DNA/ – The National Assembly passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill on Wednesday amid an opposition walkout, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulating lawmakers on approving the legislation.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the Bill — which was passed with 234 votes in favour and four against — that seeks to change the judicial structure and military command. It included eight amendments — not part of the version earlier approved by the Senate — aimed at clarifying the chief justice’s position.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), repeating its course of action during today’s session, walked out and did not partake in the voting. Some opposition tore up the copies of the bill.
However, four members from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), once a close ally of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), were the only lawmakers to register their votes against the amendments.
The government introduced four changes and removed the same number. The term “Federal Constitutional Court” has been added to Clause 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution. The word “Supreme Court” has been inserted in Article 10 of the Constitution.
Moreover, Article 176 has been amended, stipulating that the incumbent chief justice will remain Chief Justice of Pakistan until the completion of the current term. Clause 2 of Article 255 has been amended to address the appointment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan after the current term.
Clarifying the situation further, the law minister mentioned that the senior-most among the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court will be designated as Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The multi-clause amendment bill required a two-thirds majority in the 336-member House. The ruling coalition easily secured the required votes, with the PML-N holding 125 seats, the PPP 74, the MQM-P 22, the PML-Q four, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party four, and one seat each held by the PML-Z, the Balochistan Awami Party, and the National Peoples Party.
Interesting, in the Senate, the government’s legislation secured votes from two opposition lawmakers. PTI’s Saifullah Abro and JUI-F Ahmed Khan backed the Bill, and while Abro announced his resignation as a lawmaker on the same day, Khan was asked by his party to step down for violating party lines.
Speaking on the NA floor ahead of the passage, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that following the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the judiciary will no longer have the authority to take suo motu actions.
He noted that the PPP and PML-N had faced the “consequences” of suo motu powers, especially during the tenure of former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry.
“We have witnessed prime ministers and ministers being humiliated under the pretext of suo motu. The judiciary even used this authority to regulate the prices of tomatoes and potatoes,” Bilawal added.
“We have seen a Chief Justice use this power to initiate a dam project. But from now on, there will be no suo motu.”
The PPP chairman said that the 26th Constitutional Amendment was passed with maximum consensus, a process he said reflected the spirit of democratic cooperation. He added that Maulana Fazlur Rehman played a key role in engaging PTI and other opposition parties to build agreement on the amendment, even seeking their approval for participation in the vote.
Bilawal said that the previous constitutional change created constitutional benches instead of a constitutional court, as the then-chief justice could not assume the court’s leadership. “This time, through the 27th Amendment, we are establishing a proper constitutional court,” he stated, adding that the reform would further strengthen the judicial system.
He also condemned the recent wave of terrorist attacks, urging political parties and citizens to stand united against the threat of extremism. “We may have political or ideological differences, but the entire nation must unite against terrorism,” Bilawal said, adding that militants were once again attempting to destabilise the country.
He recalled that Pakistan’s military, civil society, and citizens had previously defeated terrorism through immense sacrifices, asserting that the country would “once again overcome the menace.”
“Pakistan achieved what the entire world could not in Afghanistan — defeating terrorists on our own soil,” Bilawal remarked, paying tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives for peace.
The PPP chairman also revealed that Prime Minister Shehbaz had decided to appoint the army chief as field marshal as part of the government’s efforts to enhance the country’s defence structure. He said the post of field marshal would be constitutionally protected under Article 243, alongside other defence-related amendments soon to be introduced.
“Constitution-making derives its strength from consensus,” Bilawal noted, recalling that the 1973 Constitution was passed with unanimous agreement among all parties, while the 18th Amendment was enacted after PML-N and PPP jointly defeated dictatorship and restored democracy.
PkMAP and TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, while addressing the National Assembly, said that the current government had been formed on the basis of Form-47.
He remarked that there was a person in the House who had lost by 6,000 votes, yet was offered a seat but refused. “Another person also turned down the same offer,” Achakzai the chief of the opposition alliance added. He questioned whether such a parliament, formed under these circumstances, had the authority to amend the Constitution.
During the session, Achakzai tore up a copy of the 27th Amendment Bill in protest.
He said that efforts were being made to block the path of public rule in Pakistan, expressing sorrow over what he described as an undemocratic amendment to the Constitution. The struggle between democratic and non-democratic forces in Pakistan was ongoing, he added.
Achakzai further questioned why, if the PTI founder Imran Khan was considered good or bad, he was allowed to become the prime minister in the first place.
“The country’s top judiciary stripped one party of its election symbol, yet PTI managed to contest under different symbols and still transformed the political landscape,” he said.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also spoke on a point of order, saying that his party had made every possible effort to participate in the negotiations.
He alleged that PTI’s MNAs had been removed from the Parliament House and recalled that on November 26, several of their members were martyred. “We have stood with Pakistan and will always stand with Pakistan,” Barrister Gohar asserted.
He further claimed that their chief minister was not being allowed to meet his leader.
