President Asif Ali Zardari. — File Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday signed the 20th Constitutional Amendment bill which has now become part of the Constitution, DawnNews reported.

The bill was adopted unanimously by the National Assembly on Feb 14 and was passed by the Senate with clear majority on Feb 21 providing an independent Election Commission and a neutral interim government set-up to oversee polls.

Speaking on the occasion, the president said that the bill will ensure free and fair elections in the country.

The amendment has also validated the election of 28 law-makers through bye-polls during the past two years whose membership was suspended by the Supreme Court because the elections were held without completing the Election Commission in accordance with the 18th Amendment approved in April 2010.

Opinion

Editorial

Regional climbdown
04 Mar, 2026

Regional climbdown

WITH the region in flames, Pakistan must calibrate its foreign policy accordingly; it has to deal with some ...
Burning questions
Updated 04 Mar, 2026

Burning questions

BY most accounts, the protest was not massive. Nor was it unexpected. And yet, it ended in gruesome bloodshed. The...
Governance failure
04 Mar, 2026

Governance failure

BENEATH Lahore’s signal-free corridors and road infrastructure lies a darker truth: crumbling sewerage lines,...
Iran endgame
Updated 03 Mar, 2026

Iran endgame

AS hostilities continue following the Israeli-American joint aggression against Iran, there seems to be no visible...
Water concerns
03 Mar, 2026

Water concerns

RECENT reports that India plans to invest $60bn in increasing its water storage capacity on the Jhelum and Chenab...
Down and out
03 Mar, 2026

Down and out

ANOTHER Twenty20 World Cup, another ignominious exit — although this time Pakistan did advance past the first...