AFTER failing to get the required numbers last month, it seems the government is preparing to unveil a much-touted ‘Constitutional Package’, also being referred to as the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Sources say separate sessions of the Senate and the National Assembly will be convened on Monday, signalling that the ruling coalition is confident it now has the 224 votes needed to secure the passage of the controversial legislation, which envisions the setting up of a constitutional court, and changes the way judges of the superior judiciary are appointed.

The apex court’s ruling in the Article 63A review, which now allows the votes of lawmakers voting against party lines on four key issues — votes of confidence, election of leader of the house, the finance bill and constitutional amendments — to be counted, doubtlessly helped the ruling party in making up its mind.

On Thursday, two other key developments signalled that events were moving in the direction of the amendment being tabled in the coming days.

NA, Senate sessions likely to be called next week; ruling parties file references against two MNAs for ‘supporting opposition’

Firstly, in an interaction with journalists, PTI leaders claimed they were in contact with two members of the treasury benches who had assured them they would abstain from voting on the constitutional amendment.

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Simultaneously, separate references were filed on Thursday before National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq against two MNAs, Adil Khan Bazai and Ilyas Muhammad Chaudhry. Both technically belong to the treasury benches, but have been accused of supporting the opposition. The former hails from Quetta and joined the PML-N after being elected as an independent, while the latter belongs to the faction of PML-Q sympathetic to former PM Imran Khan.

In the same interaction, PTI office-bearers had also indicated that they suspected the loyalties of at least seven of their lawmakers in the lower house, and had taken steps to ensure that they do not violate party discipline during the impending vote on the amendment.

Although they did not specify which lawmakers they were referring to, insiders believe that these include a number of MNAs who are still technically considered ‘independent’ on the NA rolls. They include Riaz Fatiyana (who is presently abroad), Mubarak Zeb, Ali Asghar Khan, Muhammad Aslam Ghumman, Usman Ali, Zahoor Hussain Qureshi and Aurangzeb Khan Khichi.

Although political circles believe that the Supreme Court decision would help fortify the resolve of any lawmaker looking to jump ship, the reality is that such MNAs would still be liable to de-seating on the recommendation of their party head. The fresh SC ruling simply means that their votes, which would have earlier been discarded, would now be counted.

Sources in the NA Secretariat suggested that the ‘Constitutional Package’ would probably be tabled in the lower house first before being sent to the relevant standing committee for debate.

But there still remains many a slip between cup and lip, so to speak, as key players such as Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F remain unconvinced of the government’s plans.

Already, the election of a PPP lawmaker from Rahim Yar Khan and the addition of Samina Khalid Ghurki to the lower house on a reserved seat for women allocated to the PPP has added to the strength of the ruling coalition. As it stands, the coalition currently has 214 members in the lower house.

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There are two lines of action before the ruling coalition. It can try to prevail upon the JUI-F, in which case it would just be one vote short of the two-thirds majority. On the other hand, if the government manages to rope in ten opposition votes, it wouldn’t even need the support of the Maulana’s eight lawmakers.

The government is said to be looking at all options, being wary of the Maulana’s mixed signals — one day he supports constitutional courts, the next day he says the government doesn’t have the mandate to introduce an amendment.

Prominent figures from the ruling parties have hinted in recent days that the amendment may be placed before parliament sometime this month: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari foresaw it being tabled by Oct 25, whereas PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said it may be taken up after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conference, being held on Oct 14 and 15.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024