Pakistan’s Senate on Sunday (Oct 20, 2024) passed the controversial 26th constitutional amendment bill limiting the term of Pakistan’s chief justice to three years, amid opposition from the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan .
The upper house of parliament voted 65 to 4 to approve the 26th constitutional amendment bill with the required two-thirds majority. The government needed the support of 64 members.
The bill, approved by the cabinet earlier in the day by consensus among ruling coalition partners, was introduced in the Senate by Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar.
“I… wish to introduce a bill to further amend the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the 26th constitutional amendment of 2024,” Mr Tarar said while introducing the bill in the upper house.
“Do you object?” asked Senate President Yusuf Raza Gilani, to which he received no response from the Senate members.
The bill included 22 clauses with amendments. The upper house passed the bill clause and all clauses received the support of 65 senators.
The magic number was reached after the five senators of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and two MPs from Balochistan National Party – Mengal voted in favor of the bill. The BNP-M supported the amendment despite breaking the party line to abstain during the process.
“Sixty-five members are in favor of the motion on the bill and four are against the bill… and therefore the bill was passed,” Gilani said announcing the result.
The bill creates a 12-member commission to appoint the chief justice, who will be appointed for three years.
The bill will now go to the National Assembly, where it needs a two-thirds majority to clear the hurdle. Finally, it must receive the President’s assent to become part of the constitution.
Earlier in the day, the cabinet approved the proposed draft of the controversial bill during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after seeking consensus from coalition partners, his office said.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet decided to approve the bill “in the larger interest of the country while adhering to the pledge of national development and public welfare.” Before the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz met President Asif Ali Zardari for detailed discussions on the proposed constitutional amendment during which the President was briefed and consulted, Express News reported.
Addressing a press conference before the start of the Senate session, Law Minister Tarar said a new body was being set up to appoint the judges. He said that before the 18th Amendment, judges were appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
He said the “new-faced” commission would comprise the chief justice, four senior-most judges from the apex court, two senators and two members of the national assembly MNAs – one each from the opposition.
He said the changes in the law would help in faster delivery of justice by the apex court.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Zafar was the first to speak in the Senate on the bill.
In a scathing criticism, he accused MPs from his party of being forced to vote in favor of the bill. He said senators from his party were absent because they feared being kidnapped to force them to vote for the government.
“It is against the law and against morality to use coercion to get the amendment passed,” he said while speaking on the Senate floor.
He also urged the presiding senate not to count the votes of any PTI senator if any of them had voted in the senate. Zafar came to the house to give his party position even as his party said in a statement that its political committee had decided to boycott the voting process in both houses of parliament.
Earlier, after a meeting with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan said the party had no “objection” to the final draft but would not vote on the bill when it was introduced in Parliament.
“Our leader Imran Khan will always have the final say on party decisions, so we act on his instructions and recommendations,” he said. “He (Imran) has instructed us to hold more consultations before voting as this legislation is so serious.” Rehman said on the occasion that he had no objection to the PTI’s decision not to vote on the bill.
“We have reached a consensus with the PTI, but given their condition and what they have gone through, it is their right to boycott the vote,” Fazl said.
“We have made an effort, but if a party has a strong position, we will accept that,” he added.
Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who made an elaborate effort to get the bill passed, said the government would go ahead with the amendment whether the PTI voted in favor of it or not.
“We have waited as long as we could and today, under any circumstances, this work will be completed,” Bilawal said while addressing Senate reports.
The coalition government is very optimistic about the adoption of the long-awaited 26th constitutional amendment in the parliament.
Strict security measures are planned for today’s sitting of the National Assembly, and the entry of guests is strictly prohibited, the speaker of the assembly announced.
Amending the constitution requires a separate two-thirds majority vote in the National Assembly and the Senate.
Earlier, the government did not have the required number in the Senate and the National Assembly. However, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the government already had the support to reach the required numbers.
If passed, the government may block Justice Masoor Ali Shah from succeeding the current Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa after his retirement. Isa is due to retire on October 25 after completing a retirement age of 65 years.
The original idea of increasing the retirement age of judges from 65 to 68 is also not part of the amendment.
To succeed, the bill must be passed before the October 25 deadline to complete the formalities to establish the special panel.
In order for the amendment to be passed, the ruling party needs 224 votes in the 336-member National Assembly. Currently, the coalition composition in the National Assembly is 213.
The government was forced to delay tabling the amendment bill in parliament last month after its attempts to get Rehman’s support failed.
Published – 21 Oct 2024 02:35 AM IST
