ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is hopeful about the controversial constitutional amendments amid efforts to win the support of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a party that can be decisive in the whole game.
The government led by the PML-N with the support of main ally the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and other smaller parties, failed in its first attempt to pass the proposed legislation the opposition parties PTI and the JUI-F believe are meant to control the judiciary. PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui Wednesday called on JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in an effort to persuade him on the proposed legislation.
On the other hand, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has also postponed his foreign trip most probably due to the government tabling the amendments in the parliament next week. He was reported to fly to the UK for medical treatment within a few days but, according to the sources, now he had changed his plan. He will not leave the country once the constitutional amendments are through the parliament.
Speaking to media persons after meeting JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Senator Irfan Siddiqui reiterated that the proposed constitutional amendments are not person-specific. “The constitutional amendments are not person-specific… it has nothing to do with Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa or Justice Mansoor Ali Shah,” he said.
According to the opposition parties, the government wants the constitutional package passed amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of CJP Isa, who is set to retire on October 25. On the other hand, the PTI has been requesting for the early issuance of a notification regarding the appointment of the next top judge.
The PML-N had earlier claimed to have attained the “magic number” but later it had to postpone introducing the constitutional amendments in the parliament due to not having two-thirds support in the parliament. It was after JUI-F refused at the last minute to lend its support to the ruling coalition, short of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate as the said legislation requires a two-thirds majority in both houses.
Senator Siddiqui said that the issue surrounding the constitutional amendments will be clear in the next two weeks. He further said that the JUI-F chief backed the formation of a constitutional court. However, he said Fazl did not want anything in the proposed judiciary centric constitutional package that is against the Constitution. Siddiqui hoped that the things will improve in the next two weeks adding that Fazl does not have reservations over the amendments and he only has reservations on a few minor matters which are being looked into by his team.
He said that the constitutional amendments will be passed if the ruling coalition secures a two-thirds majority in parliament. “There is no pressure regarding the amendments as this is an 18-year-old agenda,” he added.
Senator Siddiqui admitted that the government cannot pass the constitutional amendments without the JUI-F chief’s support. “We want Maulana Fazlur Rehman to support us,” said the senior PML-N leader. A day earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that so far, his party had agreed to the government’s proposal for the formation of a federal constitutional court.