• ANP rejects ‘fanciful’ provincial constitutional courts, person-specific clause
• Fazl claims ‘harmony’ in JUI-F, ruling parties’ drafts; Siddiqui hopes package to be tabled in a week
• PTI seeks more time to share draft

ISLAMABAD: As the government and opposition parties inch towards consensus on the constitutional amendments, the Awami National Party on Monday opposed a three-year term for the head of the federal constitutional court while the PTI sought more time to share its proposal.

“Tenure of three years for the chief justice is against the constitutional norms and discriminatory thus not acceptable. It also appears person-specific,” the ANP noted while sharing its draft in a meeting of the special parliamentary committee.

Sources told Dawn that the ANP also rejected the proposal about constitutional courts in provinces, calling it “absolutely fanciful and absurd” that would create an unnecessary fiscal burden. The ANP argued that high courts were already being assisted by a number of tribunals.

“Unlike high courts, the Supreme Court bears the burden of cases from all high courts; therefore, the creation of a federal constitutional court (FCC) is justified. There needs to be clear contours regarding the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the FCC in the Constitution,” the ANP said.

The party also sought amendments to Article 176 to provide for an equal number of judges from all the provinces in the Supreme Court.

The ANP also called for equal representation of the federal and respective provincial governments in the management, administration, and regulation of natural resources. It also sought to omit ‘Khyber’ from the name of the province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

ANP President Aimal Wali Khan, during the meeting, also voiced concern over the proposed amendment to Article 8 dealing with fundamental rights and was assured by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar that it would not be included in the final draft.

‘Hot words exchanged’

A highlight of the meeting was an exchange of hot words between the leaders of the PTI and the PPP over the issue of amendments.

As the PTI members sought more time for consultations on proposals shared by all political parties, former PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said it was not possible as enough time had already been wasted. He stressed that all need to show seriousness and observed there was no justification for any further delay.

The PTI also had a war of words with the ANP. When ANP Presi­dent Aimal Wali Khan said the PTI would not agree to anything and was just gaining time, PTI’s Omar Ayub asked him who was he to pass such remarks about the PTI. Mr Aimal in response said the PTI had not made a single proposal during the parliamentary panel meetings. Some members intervened to cool down tempers.

The PTI, however, said it would share its inputs after meeting Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Answering a question asked by PML-N leader Irfan Siddiqui if the PTI owned the JUI-F proposals, the PTI leaders said they had nothing to do with them as the draft did not have input from the PTI. The former ruling party, however, was asked to share its draft by October 17 when the committee will meet again.

‘Harmony in drafts’

In a related development, Maulana Fazlur Rehman told media persons in Hyderabad that there was harmony in the drafts of the PML-N, the PPP and the JUI-F.

He said proposals rejected by the JUI-F had been removed from the draft by the government. He said the amendments would be rejected if a consensus could not be reached. He indicated that amendments that infringed upon fundamental rights or aimed to strengthen some specific institution would not be acceptable.

He said he would meet Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Karachi on Monday night before leaving for Lahore where he would meet Nawaz Sharif. He also said that he would meet the PTI leaders in Islamabad.

‘Broader consensus’

Talking to reporters after the meeting of the parliamentary panel, PML-N parliamentary leader in the Senate Irfan Siddiqui said the remarks made by the JUI-F chief were encouraging and expressed hope that the constitutional amendments would be tabled in both houses of parliament in a week or so, with the support of the Maulana.

He said a broader consensus has already emerged with the exception of PTI, the only party yet to submit proposals for the constitutional amendments. He pointed out that the PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, ANP and MQM had already submitted their proposals.

Meanwhile, PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan claimed no headway was made in the meeting. He termed the proposed constitutional amendment package a ‘drone attack’ meant to weaken the judiciary.

PPP-MQM-P meeting

Separately, PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman and Dr Asim Hussain met the MQM-P delegation at Sindh House. The MQM-P delegation included Governor Kamran Tessori, Dr Farooq Sattar, and Aminul Haque.

During the meeting, both parties reached a consensus on moving forward with constitutional amendments in a transparent manner.

At a short press briefing after the meeting, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar reiterated politics was the way to engage with all stakeholders, while PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that “political people know how to break deadlocks”.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a message on X (formerly Twitter) said that the 26th Constitutional Amen­dment was not being done in haste and it was long overdue. “We never legislate or amend the constitution at a whim like dictators and judges have so easily done.”

Mohammad Hussain Khan in Hyderabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2024