The National Assembly on Thursday passed the constitutional amendment bill on delimitation with 233 parliamentary members voting in its favour.

Moreover, the bill regarding the amendment to Elections Bill 2017, which pertains to restoring the finality of Prophethood clause to its original form, was also passed in the assembly.

Both the bills were presented before the assembly by Law Minister Zahid Hamid. The bills will now be sent to the Senate for approval.

Awami Raj Party MNA had opposed the bill in the assembly and raised objections regarding the bill’s objectives and purposes.

After the bill was passed with two-third majority, Dasti said that he will approach the Supreme Court against the bill.

Moreover, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Arif Alvi withdrew his proposed amendment in two sections of the bill. 

Prior to the National Assembly session, a meeting of the parliamentary leaders was held, which was chaired by NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. The meeting decided that all the parties are in unison over the delimitation bill.

However, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan had shared some reservations regarding the bill. Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique suggested that to resolve their reservations, another session of Council of Common Interests (CCI) could be summoned.

During the meeting, MQM-Pakistan chief Farooq Sattar reiterated his demand for the census to be held again. He said that the “census should be held again in at least 10 blocks in Karachi”.

The meeting participants had also decided to restore the finality of Prophethood clause to its original form in the Elections Act 2017.