PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri said on Thursday that the party would not support any rollback of the 18th Amendment or the NFC Award if the government sought its backing.
Speaking to reporters in Karachi outside the Bilawal House, Marri said that her party will never take away the rights given to provinces.
“When it comes to provinces, the PPP has a very clear stance […] the Pakistan Peoples Party wants to see the strengthening of the provinces, and it will never take away its rights or agree to proposals that may [compromise its rights],” she said.
However, she added that if any constitutional amendments could improve Pakistan’s governance system, enhance institutional performance, and deliver greater relief to citizens, the PPP would be open to considering and supporting such proposals.
“There are fears and speculations that there will be discussions [today] regarding the 18th Amendment or the NFC share. The PPP has a very clear stance on this — we will never step back. Rolling back the 18th Amendment is simply not possible. If the government seeks the PPP’s support, we will not be part of any such move.”
The PPP will shortly hold a meeting of its Central Executive Committee (CEC) at the Bilawal House to discuss the proposed 27th Amendment.
Regarding the CEC meeting, Marri said: “This meeting was not on the schedule, but matters were brought forward that prompted us to call the meeting.”
“The PPP Chairman made an X post on November 3, in which he said that the prime minister met him with a PML-N delegation, in which they discussed the 27th Amendment and proposals were put forward.
“They asked for the PPP’s backing on these proposals, but as you know, the PPP’s procedure is very structured,” Marri added. “We will bring all of these matters to the party forums along with legal teams. The chairman has said that he would bring these proposals to the PPP’s highest forum, the Central Executive Committee.”
Marri stated that the president and PPP chairman both returned from a trip to Qatar, saying that their flight landed in Karachi. “The meeting will commence upon their arrival at Bilawal House,” she said.
When asked about the proposals given to the PPP, Marri said that they would be discussed in tonight’s meeting.
“We will find out what has been discussed tonight,” she replied. “It’s wrong to cast judgment on points that you have not heard. If there is any change or improvisation [sic] in the system that improves the lives of the people, then there is no issue in listening.”
The spokesperson added that she could only speak about the points mentioned by Bilawal in his posts on social media, reiterating that the details from the meeting and “authentic news” would be shared with the press.
“If we need to discuss matters from today’s meeting further, then we can extend the session,” she added. “We will not be finishing this meeting within a couple of hours.”
On November 3, Bilawal took to X and revealed key features of the proposed amendment for which the PML-N-led government sought its support.
“Proposal includes: setting up [of] constitutional court, executive magistrates, transfer of judges, removal of protection of provincial share in NFC, amending article 243, return of education and population planning to the federation and breaking [the] deadlock on appointment of ECP,” he wrote.
‘Attack on House’
A day earlier, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, while speaking in the parliament, termed the proposed 27th amendment an “attack on the House” and said that he and his party would continue to raise their voices against it.
“Whenever there is a constitutional amendment anywhere in the world, it happens with a consensus and amends things according to the country’s needs,” he had said.
The PTI chairman said the 27th Amendment is “against the spirit of this House and the Constitution”, asserting that the country cannot have further division and urging that no amendments be presented that put more pressure on the courts.
Meanwhile, responding to some points raised by opposition members, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry called for bringing “negative and false propaganda” to a halt.
He assured the National Assembly that the 18th Amendment would not be rolled back through the 27th Amendment.
Chaudhry also denounced the attempts to make the 27th amendment controversial even before the official draft saw the light of day on the basis of assumptions and guesswork.
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