ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday started consultations with the coalition partners on the 27th Amendment, assuring them that the amendment would be passed ‘in true spirit of the Constitution’.
Delegations from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Istehkam Pakistan Party (IPP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), PML-Zia, National Party and Awami National Party (ANP) called on the prime minister separately at the PM House here.
Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Law Senator Azam Nasir Tarar, Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah were also present.
MQM-Pakistan Convener and federal minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui led the party’s delegation to hold consultations on the proposed amendment.
The delegation also comprised Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal and MNAs including Dr. Farooq Sattar, Syed Aminul Haq, Javed Hanif and Khawaja Izharul Hasan. “Consultations and discussions on the 27th Amendment were undertaken in the meeting,” a statement issued by the PM media wing said.
MQM sources said the prime minister also assured them that the government would accommodate their party’s draft with regard to the amendment in Article 140A of the Constitution in the 27th Amendment bill for reforms in the local government system.
A two-member delegation of IPP, comprising Federal Minister for Communication Abdul Aleem Khan and Minister of State for Overseas Pakistanis Aun Chaudhry, also met the prime minister at the PM House.
The four-member PMLQ delegation, led by Federal Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain, also called on the prime minister. The delegation comprised Senator Kamil Agha, MNAs Chaudhry Muhammad Ilyas and Farruk Khan. Sources said the allied parties assured support to the government on the constitutional amendment.
These three parties are represented by decisive 31 MNAs in the National Assembly. The MQM has 22 MNAs and PMLQ and IPP five and four MNAs, respectively in the lower house of the parliament.
Federal Minister Khalid Hussain Magsi and Senator Manzoor Kakar from BAP, Ejazul Haq (PML-Z), MNA Mir Pulain Baloch (National Party), Senator Aimal Wali Khan and Senator Umar Farooq also separately called on the prime minister.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the main ally, was scheduled to hold a meeting of its Central Executive Committee (CEC) in Karachi on Thursday.
Meanwhile, former speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mushtaq Ghani Thursday warned the government and its allies against passing the proposed 27th Amendment, stating that any political party supporting it would face political annihilation.
He was talking to journalists near Dahgal checkpoint, close to Adiala Jail soon after meeting with Imran Khan.
Quoting the imprisoned former prime minister, Ghani said, “Any party which approves the 27th Amendment will have its name erased from Pakistan’s political history.” He also criticised the restrictions being placed on PTI officials attempting to meet Imran Khan despite receiving court orders. Ghani said he had not been allowed to meet the PTI founder since February 8.
“Look at how we are being treated in Punjab. Despite the High Court’s orders, we are being stopped from meeting the PTI founder,” he asserted.
Rana Ghulam Qadir adds: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a meeting of federal cabinet today (Friday) at the Parliament House.
The cabinet is expected to approve the draft of 27th Constitutional Amendment. The cabinet meeting will be held at 9:45am. During the meeting, the members will be briefed on the draft of 27th Constitutional Amendment, after which the cabinet will grant its approval.
Under the law, no bill can be presented in parliament without prior approval from the cabinet. All cabinet members have been instructed to attend the meeting.
After the cabinet meeting, PM Shehbaz Sharif will depart on a one-day visit to Azerbaijan, where he will attend the Victory Day celebrations. During his visit, PM Shehbaz will hold meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other members of country’s leadership.
Muhammad Saleh Zafar adds: The draft of 27th Amendment was finalised a day earlier, on Thursday, in great secrecy by a cabinet experts committee headed by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) has shared the draft with all the allied parties and has formally requested their support for its passage in parliament.
It has been learned Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani will, for the first time, preside over the Senate session today, during which the draft of Constitutional Amendment will be presented
Since the beginning of the session, he has been serving as Acting President of Pakistan, which had previously prevented him from chairing the proceedings.
According to agreed strategy, the draft Constitutional Amendment will be referred to a joint meeting of the standing committees of both National Assembly and Senate. These committees will finalise it within the next three days, and by Monday, the amended version along with their recommendations will be presented before Senate.
The joint committee meeting will be chaired by Senator Farooq H. Naek of Pakistan Peoples Party. It was learnt Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF) has not yet expressed willingness to support the Constitutional Amendment and will make a final decision after Maulana Fazlur Rehman returns from Karachi on Monday.
According to sources, consultations with all relevant stakeholders regarding amendments have already been completed.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will be the chief guests in the Victory Parade of Azerbaijan’s armed forces. Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has also been specially invited by Azerbaijan to attend the event.