• Fazl says he will meet PTI to take them on board
• Ishaq Dar claims all three parties in agreement over judicial reforms
• Amendments to be passed at ‘appropriate’ time, says Bilawal

LAHORE: In a meeting at Jati Umra, the residence of the Sharif family in Lahore, the ruling parties on Wednesday virtually succeeded in winning over Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F for their ‘judicial reform package’.

However, the parties still require cooperation from the PTI to achieve complete consensus on the constitutional amendments, which have become a bone of contention in national politics of late.

The meeting, attended by the heads of all three parties — the PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F — discussed the amendments threadbare and hoped to address the sticking points, besides giving final touches to the tweaks.

After midnight, they held a press conference to brief the media about the outcome of the meeting. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said agreement on some points had been achieved and the trio was “near consensus” on some issues. He appea­red hopeful, saying they were heading towards consensus.

“After reaching Islamabad, I will talk to the PTI about the proposed amendments and try to take it on board,” he said, adding that amendments would be brought to strengthen the institutions.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the tweaks would be passed in parliament after an appropriate time. “The consensus that was reached between two parties, the PPP and JUI-F, on proposed drafts yesterday (Tuesday); today it is among three parties: PML-N, PPP and JUI-F,” said the PPP chief.

The Constitution would be protected and swift justice be doled out through the proposed constitutional court, he added.

PML-N leader Ishaq Dar said there had been an ag­­reement among the three parties on judicial reforms.

As these parties reportedly put final touches on their drafts, Maulana Fazl is reportedly adamant on his demand for a five-strong constitutional bench in the Supreme Court instead of a separate court as proposed by the ruling parties.

A senior PPP leader, however, told Dawn that the party would not budge from its stance on the formation of a separate constitutional court. “We are hopeful that the Maulana will eventually agree to our proposal,” he said.

Besides PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Punjab Chief Minister Mar­y­­am Nawaz, Punjab Governor Saleem Haider Khan, De­­puty PM Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Karachi Mayor Mur­taza Wahab, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aura­ngzeb, and PPP’s Naveed Qamar attended the meeting.

On Tuesday, Maulana Fazl was in Karachi, where he met Mr Bhutto-Zardari and both parties agreed to a joint draft for the constitutional amendment and building consensus among other parliamentary parties.

An earlier attempt by the ruling PML-N to bulldoze these amendments passed did not succeed as it failed to win over the JUI-F and the legislation could not be tabled despite houses being in session.

After that, Mr Bhutto-Zardari took the driving seat to evolve a consensus over ‘much-needed judicial reforms’, primarily setting up a constitutional court. According to the PPP leader, this court was an unfinished agenda of the Charter of Democracy signed by his late mother Benazir Bhutto.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2024