• National Assembly poised to pass amendment after Senate endorsement
• Two BNP-M ‘defectors’ vote for bill in upper house
• PTI leaders term its passage ‘Black Day’ for democracy
• Maulana says amendment very different from initial draft
• Bilawal praises Fazl’s efforts
• Bill adds four lawmakers to JCP; new parliamentary panel to pick CJP
• Suo motu powers given to constitutional benches
• Provinces can ‘activate’ constitutional benches through resolutions
• Clause on Riba elimination inserted on JUI-F’s suggestion

ISLAMABAD: After weeks of political manoeuvrings and deliberations, the government on Sunday finally managed to secure passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill from the Senate, while the National Assembly was on the verge of passing it at the time of going to press, with the government enjoying a two-thirds majority.

The PTI, which informed the JUI-F of its decision to oppose the bill earlier in the day, voted against the amendments as the Senate passed it with 65 votes, including two from Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) senators, Muhammad Qasim and Naseema Ehsan, who voted against party lines.

The bill, tabled by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar was approved by the Senate with 23 votes from the PPP, 19 from the PML-N, and five from the JUI-F, whose chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman held a key to the two-thirds majority in the upper house of parliament.

Besides, four senators of the BAP, the MQM-P and the Awami National Party with their three votes each, one National Party and PML-Q senator each, and four independent senators also voted for the bill.

Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Mohsin Naqvi, Faisal Vawda, and Abdul Qadir were the independent senators. Four opposition members who opposed the bill were Barrister Ali Zafar, Aon Abbas Bappi, Raja Nasir Abbas, and Hamid Khan, all PTI-linked.

‘United in national interest’

The bill was tabled in the National Assembly after midnight, hours after the Senate nod.

Speaking during the overnight sitting, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari praised JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for his role in the passage of the amendments. Although the PPP had political differences with the JUI-F, he said, they were united in the national interest.

Regretting that political space had shrunk, he said they had tried their best to forge “maximum consensus”, even trying to take the opposition on board. He said it was on the JUI-F’s insistence that the PPP withdrew its proposal for a separate constitutional court.

“Though the PTI didn’t vote for the bill, the party agreed to the bill and it was also a political success of the PTI,” he said. “It could have been better if you (PTI) would have also brought your amendments,” he said, addressing the party’s leaders.

The PPP chairman criticised the judiciary for validating military takeovers and allowing the dictators to change the Constitution.

In his speech in the National Assembly, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said his party had opposed the initial draft, but the one tabled in the house was entirely different from the initial set of proposals.

He said initially the amendments were person-specific as the government was afraid of one judge and the opposition of the other. “That was why I asked for some changes in the bill,” he added.

According to the JUI-F leader, as per one of his amendments, the Shariat Court has to decide a case in one year; otherwise, the matter will be referred to the Supreme Court.

Referring to the PTI’s stance, he said that this was not a revolution, where things could be overturned. Rather, in a democracy, changes are made gradually, he said.

PTI lashes out

In his address, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub said the current assembly had no mandate to amend the Constitution, calling it “a product of rigged elections”. The PTI leader also lashed out at the ruling PML-N, alleging that the party had changed its slogan of “respect the vote” to “respect the boot”.

The opposition leader once again alleged that their members were being offered up to Rs3 billion in bribes to seek their support for the bill. He said the amendments would undermine the country’s judicial system and criticised the government for passing it in undue haste.

The opposition leader then started naming party members, including MNAs, who had been allegedly abducted to pressurise them into supporting the bill. He specifically mentioned the names of MNAs Riaz Fatiyana, Zain Qureshi, Zahoor Qureshi, Miqdad Ali, Usman Ali, Aurangzeb Khichi, Mubarak Zeb Khan, and Zartaj Gul, stressing that PTI members who had been forcibly disappeared and now produced in the house should not be allowed to vote.

In response, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the amendments aimed at empowering parliament were in line with the Charter of Democracy, which had also been endorsed by other parties, including the PTI and Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s PkMAP. The minister said the country had a history of having “spineless chief justices” and praised incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa for “restoring the respect of the judiciary”.

Referring to “four opposition MNAs” who were expected to vote for the amendment, he said they had been elected as independents in the February elections.

Last-minute amendments

As he tabled the bill in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the constitutional amendments “revived” the spirit of 18th Amendment and now parliament also had representation in the judicial commission.

At least four amendments to the bill were introduced on the floor of the Senate, two on behalf of the JUI-F lawmakers and two by the law minister himself.

The JUI-F amendments included the insertion of a clause that the government would ensure the elimination of Riba (interest) by January 1, 2028, and the stipulation that any matter could be referred by parliament to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) by the assent of 25pc of its members, down from the 40pc. Both amendments were passed unanimously.

The law minister also introduced an amendment that allowed the various provincial assemblies — and the National Assembly in respect of the Islamabad High Court — to adopt resolutions setting up constitutional benches in their respective high courts, rather than mandating them through the current amendment.

Earlier in the day, the federal cabinet in a special meeting approved the draft of the 26th constitutional amendment bill.

Strict security arrangements were in place in both houses of parliament, and their secretariats announced that no visitors would be allowed in the galleries.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2024