ISLAMABAD: With the fate of a proposed constitutional amendment hanging in the balance, both houses of parliament are expected to meet over the next couple of days, informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

A meeting of the special parliamentary committee reviewing the draft amendments, which was previously scheduled for Oct 17, will now be held today (Wednesday), while an official source said the National Assembly and the Senate would meet tomorrow or the day after (Thursday or Friday).

The developments came amidst ahead of reports that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman had agreed to support the constitutional ame­ndments, if the proposal for a separate constitutional court is replaced with a bench that would function within the dom­ain of the Supreme Court.

A lawmaker from the ruling coalition, when contacted, said he had heard that both houses of parliament would meet this week, but he was not sure if a set of proposed constitutional amendments would be placed before them during the sitting.

He said the JUI-F chief had played a key role as without his support, it was difficult that the proposed amendments sail through parliament.

The Maulana met with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Karachi on Tuesday to discuss the matter, but a clear picture, the lawmaker said, would emerge only after the JUI-F chief met Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) President Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Wednesday, and leaders of the PTI.

Referring to the Maulana’s recent remarks, he said they were very positive and the government was confident of winning his support for the constitutional amendments.

However, he did not give a clear answer when asked if the government would agree to the proposal of setting up a constitutional bench ins­tead of a constitutional court.

Narrow lens of factional politics

Senator Irfan Siddiqui, parliamentary party leader of PML-N in Senate, expressed concern that the proposed amendments were being viewed through a “narrow lens of factional politics”.

In a statement posted on X, Senator Siddiqui re­­marked that opponents of the constitutional amendments failed to identify any clause that infringes on fundamental human rights, public interest, the essence of the Constitution, or the independence of the judiciary.

He said that the PTI did not present a single recommendation or suggestion during seven meetings of the special committee and criticised the opposition for ‘politicising’ the legal issue. Perhaps some individuals were “reluctant to ease hardships faced by thousands of prisoners”, he said.

Senator Siddiqui also highlighted the importance of elevating parliament’s role to the level required by a democratic parliamentary system.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2024