PPP, JUI-F agree on shared draft of constitutional package

Published October 15, 2024
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman address a press conference in Karachi on Tuesday. — DawnNewsTV
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman address a press conference in Karachi on Tuesday. — DawnNewsTV

The PPP and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) reached an agreement on Tuesday on a shared draft of the much-touted constitutional amendments.

The much-talked-about Consti­tutional Package is legislation proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including the extension of the top judge’s term.

Three separate drafts of the constitutional package were being prepared — one by the government, the second by the PPP, and the third by the JUI-F. A committee, led by PPP’s Khursheed Shah, has the representation of all parties, including the PTI. It was formed by the National Assembly speaker for reconciliation among lawmakers, particularly between the PTI and the government, after a raid by plainclothesmen to round up the PTI men from the Parliament House.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had told media persons in Hyderabad a day ago 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 consensus could not be reached. He had indicated that amendments that infringed upon fundamental rights or aimed to strengthen some specific institution would not be acceptable.

Fazl visited PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Karachi today. In a press conference after their meeting, he said: “I can say this much after a long discussion that our two parties have agreed on a draft.”

Fazl said he still needed to meet PML-N President Nawaz Sharif tomorrow, adding that he also had to meet the PTI leadership.

“It will be our effort to create such a consensus in this bill that it is unanimously considered a constitutional amendment.”

He said “serious” talks were held with the PPP and lauded Bilawal for playing a “big role” in achieving the consensus.

Bilawal said there was a further need to build upon the consensus achieved today between the two parties, adding that the PPP was also invited to the Nawaz-Fazl meeting.

He hoped that the PPP-JUI-F consensus would convert into one with the PML-N as well. Bilawal said Fazl was desirous that this consensus included not only the government’s allied parties but also the PTI and other opposition parties.

“If this [consensus] is possible and happens, then it will lend great strength to our constitutional process and it will bring improvement.

“The goal of every one of us is not person-specific or a limitation by the time. Our emphasis … is only on finding solutions to the nation’s problems.”

Bilawal said he hoped that the final bill passed by the National Assembly would be based on the consensus achieved today.

He added that the prevalent environment in the country made it seem unlikely that political parties would talk with one another and agree, further saying that he hoped all issues in the country would be solved by political parties by achieving consensus with one another for the sake of the nation.

To a question, Bilawal said the PML-N was “active in its own way” regarding the constitutional amendment, adding that “we have our own ways and they have another way”.

Meanwhile, Fazl said his party still rejected the first draft whose details were revealed.

Prodded for details and confirmation about the points of the shared draft, Bilawal said further time was required to tell more about its final shape and what it would look like since the agreement of other parties was needed as well and then the final version could be passed through parliament.

He also said he would “welcome” Fazl taking input from the PTI on the draft.

Separately, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, chief of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), alleged that his senators and their families were being harassed.

“My only remaining option is to ask the senators to step down. You’ve left us with no other path,” he said in a post on X.

He similarly previously claimed that two senators of his party were being “pressurised” to vote in favour of the highly anticipated “constitutional package”.


Additional reporting by Nadir Guramani.

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