Shortly after getting approval from the federal cabinet, the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate on Saturday and subsequently referred to the concerned committee.
The bill, which was tabled in the Senate by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, proposed the formation of a Federal Constitutional Court, changes in the process for appointing high court judges, changes to the threshold for provincial cabinets, and changes to Article 243 of the Constitution.
At the outset of the session, Tarar — who had earlier in the day briefed the media on some features of the proposed legislation after the federal cabinet meeting — requested the suspension of the question hour and other house business so he could brief lawmakers on the amendment.
The law minister then moved the bill before the upper house, with Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani referring it to the standing committees on law and justice for review and consideration.
“The bill as introduced in the House stands referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for review and consideration. In line with past parliamentary practice and considering the significance of the proposed constitutional amendments as well as the need for broader deliberations on the subject, the Standing Committee on Law and Justice is directed to invite the chairman and members of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice of the National Assembly to participate in its proceedings and share input on the bill,” he said.
He said that both committees may hold joint meetings for a detailed review and consideration, and the report would be presented before the House.
During the session, PTI’s Ali Zafar said that debating the constitutional amendment was not appropriate when the leader of the opposition’s seat remained vacant. He said that the government and its allied parties appeared to be in a hurry to pass the bill.
“I would suggest that instead of sending it to the committee, let this Senate be treated as a committee as a whole,” he said, suggesting the bill be debated by all individuals. He further said that the opposition had received the draft today and had also not yet read a word of it.
“We cannot debate something we have not read,” he said.
Meanwhile, the law minister said that the bill had 49 clauses. “Let me clarify that there are three main areas and two ancillary. It will address five subject areas,” he said.
He highlighted that one of the things agreed in the Charter of Democracy signed in 2006 was the formation of a Federal Constitutional Court, which would have superior court judges from all provinces and hear constitutional matters, while regular courts would continue to hear all other matters.
“During consultations on the 26th Constitutional Amendment, some of our friends suggested that we refrain from making such a huge change and to experiment by forming constitutional benches,” he said.
The minister said that constitutional benches had been formed, but judges spent most of their time listening to such matters and other cases during the rest of the time. “The fact of the matter is that five to six per cent of cases take 40pc of the court’s time and the rest of the cases remain as is,” he said.
He further stated that some argued that constitutional benches were a “court within a court” and also raised other objections.
“After detailed consultations with all political forces … We said that the wish and demand of a Federal Constitutional Court should be brought into the Parliament, which we have done through this bill,” he said.
He said that another issue concerned the process for the transfer of high court judges. This was addressed in the 1973 Constitution, which empowered the president to make the transfer on the advice of the premier in consultation. He said that the transfer could be made for two years without the judge’s consent, but longer periods would require it.
“In the 18th Amendment, the two-year condition was removed, and it was stated that the judge’s consent would be sought. In the 26th Amendment, the condition remained the same but concerns were raised about the interference of the executive,” he said.
He further said that it was proposed that the bit about the premier’s advice for the transfer of judges be removed and handed over to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
“It also has safeguards that a judge more senior than the chief justice will not be sent so that there is no dispute about that,” he said, adding that it was up to the JCP whether or not it wanted to seek the judge’s consent.
Talking about elections for the upper house of Parliament, he noted that they took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a delay of more than a year.
“The first thing after a Senate election is the election of the chairman and deputy chairman. To avoid any dispute in this regard, a clause has been introduced,” he said.
The minister further said that the bill also proposed increasing the 11pc provincial threshold for the cabinet to 13pc, noting that all provinces had voiced concerns apart from Punjab.
The Constitution allows the provinces to have cabinets not exceeding 15 ministers or 11pc of the total membership of their respective provincial assembly, whichever of the two is higher.
“Previously, there were five provincial advisers … now they have been increased to seven,” he said.
Talking about Article 243, which provides that the federal government “shall have control and command of the armed forces”, the minister said that certain clauses were being introduced.
He said that Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir had been awarded the title of field marshal. “This is a title, not a rank, not an appointment as such … whereas army chief is an appointment with a five-year tenure,” he said.
“Field marshal, or marshal of the air force, admiral of the fleet — these exist in different countries for land, navy and air forces — these have been mentioned, and it has been stated that these titles will be given to national heroes. These titles are for a lifetime. It is a title,” he said.
He further said that it was clarified that the “impeachment or reversal” of the title would not be at the premier’s authority but at Parliament’s.
He further said that the office of CJCSC would be abolished from November 27, 2025. “The present CJCSC is also our hero; it will be abolished after his appointment ends. Parliament cannot even think of depriving him of the role during his tenure,” he said.
The minister said, however, that there would be no new appointment because the COAS had been given the role of the chief of defence forces. He further said that the bill proposed that the prime minister, on the recommendation of the COAS, would appoint the commander of the National Strategic Command.
“Where the federal government promotes a member of the armed forces to the rank of field marshal, marshal of the air force or admiral of the fleet, such officer shall retain the rank, privileges and remain in uniform for life,” he said, reading from the bill.
“Upon completion of the term of his command, under the law, the federal government shall determine the responsibilities and duties of field marshal, marshal of the air force or admiral of the fleet in the interest of the state,” he read out from the draft.
Federal govt approves draft
Shortly before the Senate session, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had chaired the cabinet meeting via video link from Azerbaijan, according to state-run PTV News.
“The federal cabinet approved the draft for the 27th Constitutional Amendment and welcomed it to the fullest extent,” it had added.
“Everyone made joint efforts for the 27th Constitutional Amendment for strengthening the Centre’s relations with the provinces and the country’s wider interests,” the premier was quoted as saying. He commended the law minister’s efforts, as well as those of the attorney general of Pakistan.
Shehbaz noted that he had taken PML-N President Nawaz Sharif into confidence for the amendments and sought his guidance on them. “I also took President Asif Ali Zardari into confidence regarding the Amendment and we are deeply grateful to him for their approval,” the premier said.
He went on to specifically thank PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari and heads of other allied parties who held discussions with him and “strongly supported” the draft. The prime minister noted that Awami National Party (ANP) President Aimal Wali Khan, PML-Zia head Ijazul Haq and other politicians were also apprised of the legislation.
He stressed that everyone must work together for the country’s progress and prosperity.
PM Shehbaz had held consultations with multiple ruling allies on Thursday, meeting with the top leadership of the PML-Q, the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Balochistan Awami Party, the ANP and the PML-Zia.
After the federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad, the law minister had briefed the media on some of the key features of the draft and informed that the bill would be tabled in the Senate.
Moreover, Tarar recalled that at the time of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the MQM-P had contacted the prime minister and the PML-N seeking changes to Article 140A, which provides that the provinces will establish local governments (LGs).
“They had introduced a bill in the Senate, which was referred to a committee and on the directives of the premier, I, as the law minister, also gave a note in its support,” Tarar said.
“As that bill is already pending, the cabinet has also directed me today that when today’s bill is referred to the committee after being presented in the senate, the committee should also mull over [the one tabled by the MQM-P],” he said.
Tarar said that the government would try to convince its allied partners to develop a consensus on this bill so it could be passed, adding that a recent resolution by the Punjab Assembly regarding LGs would also be discussed.
He further said that Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leaders, in their meeting with PM Shehbaz earlier this week, had directed his attention to a bill pertaining to an increase in the seats for the Balochistan Assembly.
“So both these bills, which are already pending before the law and justice standing committee, will be debated,” the minister said.
“Pakistan is going through very tough circumstances, and I think the country’s greatest need today is political consensus and political stability,” the law minister stressed.
The proposed constitutional tweaks have been heavily criticised by lawyers and politicians, who termed them an attempt to revoke provincial rights granted in the 18th Amendment.
The federal cabinet meeting was originally scheduled for Friday, but was postponed due to PM Shehbaz’s commitments in Azerbaijan, sources in the PM Office said. However, some were of the opinion that the meeting was put off due to a lack of consensus between the ruling PML-N and the PPP over the Amendment.
The PPP has said it would support amendments to Article 243, which defines the powers of the armed forces, but has rejected proposals related to provinces’ shares under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and any rollback of the 18th Amendment.
The PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) yesterday decided that it “agrees in principle with the idea that constitutional courts should be formed” — a proposal also mulled during the 26th Amendment discussions last year.
The MQM-P presented its own version of additions to the 27th Amendment, calling for strong and autonomous LGs across the country. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam–Fazl (JUI-F), which met with an MQM-P delegation on Thursday, has opposed any amendment that would reduce the powers granted to the provinces under the 18th Amendment.
The opposition PTI has criticised most of the tweaks, terming the proposed amendment an “attack“ on the Parliament. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said earlier this week that it would be inappropriate to claw back population and education from the provinces.
On the other hand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Wednesday assured the National Assembly that the 18th Amendment would not be rolled back through the 27th Amendment.
On November 3, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari revealed that the government’s proposed amendments included “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”.
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