SENATE PASSES 26TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT WITH MAJORITY.
65 votes cast in favour, four against n PTI refrains from voting while JUI-F supports amendment. Special MPs body with majority vote will appoint Chief Justice of Pakistan from among three most senior judges for three years. Advice sent to president by PM or cabinet cannot be challenged in any court. Jan 2028 set as deadline to end Riba paving way for interest-free banking. Sitting CJP Justice Faez Isa will retire on Oct 25: Law minister. PM congratulates nation saying the 26th Amendment made in larger national interest.
ISLAMABAD - After weeks long escalating political tensions in the federal capital, the incomplete Senate on Sunday passed the much-hyped 26th constitutional amendment bill that makes the present Supreme Court toothless by giving three major jurisdictions of the apex court to a newly proposed constitutional bench.
The Senate passed a set of constitutional amendments by 65 votes, one more than the required two-thirds majority, against four votes of PTI and its allies. The multi-party coalition needed 64 votes to get the bill passed.
The 26th Constitutional Amendment passed by the house significantly amends the procedure for the appointment of chief justice of Pakistan by doing away with the practice of appointment of senior most judge of the Supreme Court as the chief justice (CJ).
The amendment will impact the immediate appointment of the next CJ as Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, being the senior most judge, was set to become the next chief on October 26 after the retirement of his predecessor.
Now a parliamentary committee will consider the next chief justice among a list of three senior most judges of the Supreme Court (SC). Besides Justice Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Yahya Afridi are the two other senior most judges and Justice Afridi is being considered as favourite for the coveted position. The bill moved by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the house transfers powers of the SC regarding constitutional matters and its appellant and advisory jurisdictions to the newly proposed constitutional bench.
As many as 23 senators of PPP, 19 of PML-N, five of JUI-F, four of BAP, three each of MQM-Pakistan and ANP, two of BNP-M, one each of National Party and PML-Q and four independents voted in favour of the bill.
The independent lawmakers included Anwarul Haq Kakar, Mohsin Naqvi, Faial Vawda and Abdul Qadir.
The two votes of opposition Balchistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) played a key role in helping the government to get the two-thirds majority. Earlier, BNP-chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal had accused that his party’s two senators including Muhammad Qasim and Naseema Ehsan were missing and they were being coerced to vote for the bill.
The four members of the opposition PTI and its allies present in the house who did not vote included Ali Zafar, Aon Abbas Bappi, Raja Nasir Abbas and Hamid Khan.
The constitutional amendment also provides for the formation of constitutional benches at the provincial high courts. It has changed the composition of the present Judicial Commission of Pakistan by giving representation of parliament in it that will appoint judges in the superior courts and in the constitutional benches. The senior most judge among judges of the constitutional bench at the SC will be the presiding judge of such a bench. Same rule will apply for constitutional benches at the provincial high courts.
The constitutional bench at the SC will have equal representation of judges from all the provinces.
The bill also provides for the formation of a parliamentary committee comprising of eight members of the National Assembly and four of the Senate on the basis of proportionate strength of political parties in the parliament. The committee will finalize the name of CJP among a list of three with a two-thirds majority.
The opposition claims that both the newly formed judicial commission and parliamentary committee would be tilted towards ruling parties by virtue of their composition.
Explaining the salient features of the bill in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said under the 18th Amendment, the procedure for appointments in the superior judiciary had been changed to make these transparent and merit-based.
He said under the change, the judicial commission of Pakistan headed by the CJ was to make nominations keeping in view the credentials of the candidates and a final decision was to be taken by a parliamentary committee. He said the parliamentary panel had been given powers to reject the nominations but a petition challenged the amendment.
The law minister said during the proceedings, a message was received from the judiciary which sought a dominant role in the process and threatened to strike down the amendment otherwise.
The political parties had to get passed the 19th Amendment under coercion that factually made the parliamentary committee a rubber stamp and the judicial commission was powered to make appointment of judges in the higher courts, he said.
He said bar councils, lawmakers and other organizations had been demanding since 2010 to revisit the mechanism to revive the spirit of the 18th Amendment.
“Keeping this in view, it has been decided to suitably amend Article 175-A of the constitution”, he remarked.
He said now the composition of the judicial commission is being changed to include representation from the parliament in it, bringing judges, judiciary, parliament, executive and other stakeholders together for making appointments in the superior judiciary.
He said commission would include CJ as its head, three senior most judges of the apex court, presiding officer of the constitutional bench, law minister, attorney general, an advocate of SC to be nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council and one member from women or non-Muslims beyond the parliament to be nominated by speaker National Assembly.
Senator Tarar said the commission would also have the powers to evaluate performance of high court judges and refer the cases of “inefficient” judges to the Supreme Judicial Council for removal.
Opposing the bill, PTI parliamentary leader in the house Ali Zafar said the amendment was being pushed through the house without broader consensus and did not represent the will of the people. “It is against the principles of democracy and the Constitution,” he said, adding any constitutional amendment introduced without consensus and against public will goes to the dustbin. “There are serious flaws in the document and it would have to be reversed with some difficulties,” he said.
He said the bill provides a chance to the government to appoint judges and the CJ of its own choice.
• According to the amendment, Riba (interest) will be eliminated completely before the first day of January 2028.
Earlier in the day, the federal cabinet gave approval to the draft of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was given a comprehensive briefing by Minister of Law and Justice, Azam Nazeer Tarar, on the constitutional amendment.
Addressing the cabinet, PM Shehbaz Sharif hailed the decision as a major achievement for Pakistan’s development and progress. “The cabinet has made an excellent decision for the development, prosperity and the betterment of the country’s overall situation.”
The prime minister congratulated the nation on the approval of the 26th Amendment, emphasizing that it was made in the larger national interest.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to public welfare and the constitutional integrity of the country.
“By the grace of Allah, after stabilizing the economy, we have now crossed a milestone for constitutional stability and the rule of law in Pakistan,” he said.
Looking ahead, the prime minister assured that the government would continue working diligently for the country’s development, prosperity, and stability in line with the promises made to the people, he affirmed.
He also expressed gratitude to the heads of the government’s allied parties for their support, particularly acknowledging the contributions of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah, and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar.
The National Assembly session had started in the night to table the 26th constitutional amendment.
Government and opposition parties leaders including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Law Minister Nazeer Tarar, Defence Minister Kh Asif, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl ur Rehman, PTI leader Omar Ayub addressed the session.
The session was in progress till the filing of this news.