PML-N’s Senator Siddiqui claims major parties reached a consensus on 90pc points n PTI chairman says govt is yet to present complete amendment draft. PPP leader says constitutional amendments’ draft will be completed in a couple of days. PTI did not submit any proposed draft: Khursheed Shah. 7 govt MNAs will vote against proposed constitutional amendments: Gohar.
ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held detailed deliberations on the proposed constitutional amendments package during a meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. The much-hyped draft regarding the proposed judicial reforms is most likely to be presented in the Upper House of the Parliament today.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui late Thursday claimed that major parties had reached a consensus on 90 percent of the points in the constitutional package. It will be presented in the Senate tomorrow (Friday), he added.
Both the president and the PM on Thursday discussed the changes being made in the constitutional package in the light of the consultation held with JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
PM Shehbaz Sharif also took President Asif Ali Zardari into confidence about the dinner hosted by PML-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday in Lahore. Both the leaders discussed all possible options to get the constitutional amendments passed through Parliament.
According to sources, President Asif Ali Zardari gave valuable suggestions to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on how to deal with the political and constitutional situation including the appointment of the new Chief Justice of Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his satisfaction with the revised draft of the constitutional amendment package and support extended by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
During the meeting, both the leaders agreed that efforts would be continued to achieve consensus on the final drafts of the constitutional amendment package.
Both the PM and the president also expressed satisfaction with the successful conclusion of the SCO CHG summit in Islamabad and agreed that by hosting this summit, Pakistan has emerged in the region as a successful country that is capable of holding any multi-lateral global diplomatic event like of SCO.
Reportedly, the proposed draft of the 26th constitutional amendment is in the final stage of preparation, with key points and recommendations now emerging.
According to official sources, the draft includes a proposal for the establishment of a five or nine-member constitutional bench in the Supreme Court.
The points revealed are a little different from the changes proposed in the original draft of the constitutional amendment. The recommendations in the draft state that the composition of the constitutional bench will be determined by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, which will also appoint the head of the constitutional bench.
Moreover, it has been suggested that the chief justice of the Supreme Court will not have the authority to make changes to the constitutional bench. The draft for the constitutional amendment proposes setting a fixed term for appointments to the constitutional bench, with the SC chief justice to be selected from among the three senior-most judges.
Sources further added that the draft also suggests changes to the appointment process for the chief election commissioner. If the prime minister and the opposition leader cannot reach an agreement, the appointment will be made by a parliamentary committee.
Following amendments to Article 63-A (disqualification on grounds of defection, etc), votes will be counted according to party policy. The draft also includes amendments to Article 48 (president to act on advice, etc), further shaping the future of Pakistan’s constitutional framework.
The advice sent by the prime minister and the federal cabinet to the president will not be subject to challenge. No institution, court, or authority “will have the power to investigate or take action on the advice provided to the president.”
A private TV channel also claimed late Thursday that all the political parties, including the opposition, finally reached a consensus on the formation of a constitutional bench after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took a step back on the matter of the constitutional court.
The matter, initially focused on the constitutional court, has now advanced to the formation of a constitutional bench.
After high-level discussions, some leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the PPP claimed an agreement had been reached among all the political parties on the formation of the constitutional bench, as per the insiders.
This comes after another meeting of the special committee on constitutional amendments draft concluded on Thursday. The parliamentary committee’s meeting has been adjourned till noon on Friday (today).
The constitutional package, among other things, aims to set up a federal constitutional court and fix the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years.
The government had attempted to present the bill to amend the Constitution last month, but its allies as well as members from the opposition benches vehemently opposed the proposal, forcing the ruling parties to begin a consultation process.
To pass the constitutional amendments, the government requires a two-thirds majority in parliament, with sources indicating a shortfall of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate.
In his remarks after Thursday’s meeting, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said the government presented its third draft on the judicial package. In its third draft, the government had talked about a constitutional bench instead of court, he said. “The government has not yet brought up its complete draft,” he added.
The PTI chief said he would later hold a meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the matter as well.
Earlier, the PTI chief claimed that the coalition government’s seven Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) would vote against the proposed constitutional amendments.
“The government’s numbers are only complete in their books. The government neither consulted its members nor answered out of fear,” he told a private news channel. He said he had received the news about the seven treasury benches members’ refusal to cast vote from reliable sources.
“The government members said they will not vote even if they are disqualified,” he said, adding that the legislators believe those voting in favour of the constitutional amendments would be doing so against their conscious. Probably, he said, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also knew that parliamentary members of his own party were not going to vote for the amendment.
Talking to media, after conclusion of the meeting, PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah said the constitutional amendments’ draft would be completed in two days.
On PTI’s opposition to the amendments, he said the PTI members of the committee, Gohar and Ayub, were helpless as they did not have a mandate. “We repeatedly asked the PTI for a proposed draft but they have not yet presented their amendments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senate Irfan Siddiqui said Thursday that substantial progress had been made on the proposed constitutional amendments package, with just a few finishing touches needed.
After attending a special committee meeting on constitutional reforms, he spoke to the media, stating that the committee was currently reviewing the draft of the proposed amendments. Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Ms. Sherry Rehman stated that both Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the PPP have reached an agreement on the amendments. However, a meeting of PTI and JUI-F leadership was scheduled later.