ISLAMABAD: The 27th Constitutional Amendment bill sailed through the Senate Monday after 64 lawmakers (mandatory two-thirds majority) voted in its favour, as two members from the opposition defected to vote for the key legislation.
The legislation includes two clauses related to the military, an amendment concerning the transfer of judges, and a provision for lifelong presidential immunity. The amendment was adopted, following a noisy protest by the opposition, led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members, as some of them gathered in front of the chairman’s dais and threw up torn up copies of the bill and orders of the day, chanting slogans.
Some of sergeant at arms moved in when the proposed leader of opposition Allama Nasir Abbas and few other lawmakers resorted to sloganeering before the Leader of the House and law minister and threw torn up documents close to them.
The piece of legislation with 59 clauses was adopted after clause by reading of the bill through head count and then by the division method with all the entry and exit points to the Senate closed as per the rules.
Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said this constitutional amendment was brought forth unanimously under the Charter of Democracy (CoD). Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar stated that minor changes were made to the bill, clarifying that the senior-most Chief Justice will head the Judges Appointment Committee and the Supreme Judicial Council for accountability.
Farooq H Naek presented report of the Law and Justice Committee of the two Houses of Parliament, co-chaired by him and NA committee chairman Mehmood Bashir Virk. Naek also explained several key changes made by the committee with consensus. The report on the 27th amendment was adopted, and then Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar initiated the process of passage of the bill.
Naek said Naek further said that presidential immunity would not be applicable when the president holds a public office. He explained that it was proposed in the bill that there would be life-time presidential immunity but the committee suggested that this immunity to the president against initiation of criminal proceedings will not be applicable after he becomes the public office-holder but it will be there, the moment he ceases to be the public office holder.
He said the bill proposed the establishment of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which the committee unanimously approved with some changes to the relevant clause. He said there would be equal representation of all provinces in the FCC, and it would also include a representative from the Islamabad High Court.
The proposed draft of the bill said that a judge could be nominated for the FCC after serving in the high court for seven years. However, the committee reduced this qualification merit from seven to five years to make the merit broad-based.
Naek said that the committee also agreed that if an appointment was made to the FCC from among sitting Supreme Court judges, then the inter-se seniority of the appointee would remain the same as at the time of the appointment. However, in the case of a fresh appointment of a lawyer or a high court judge, the seniority would be reckoned from the date on which they would assume office.
Moreover, he continued, if three or four judges would take the oath on the same day, their seniority would be determined on the basis of their age. He explained that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) was reconstituted under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, with the speaker being authorised to nominate a woman or a non-Muslim candidate to become a member.
However, the committee changed this to include a technocrat and now the speaker can nominate a woman, non-Muslim or technocrat who qualifies to be a member of Parliament for the JCP.
Naek spoke about the current Supreme Court suo motu powers and that it could invoke Article 183 of the Constitution to take up a case at its discretion. But as for the FCC, “we have retained the suo motu powers but we would exercise these powers when an application is submitted. The case will be taken up for hearing after the FCC decides whether the application for exercising suo motu powers is valid.
He said that under Article 199 of the Constitution, an interim stay order in matters of revenue remained valid until the case was decided but this created a huge backlog, adding that the interim order would now be vacated automatically after one year if no decision on the case was made until then.
Previously, he noted, even when the 26th Amendment was passed, judges could be transferred by the president, but the consent of the said judge was required, and two chief justices of the relevant high courts were consulted.
It was included in the amendment now that transfer of a judge would be possible through the JCP, which would determine the terms and conditions and give approval, and also ‘restriction’ had been introduced that a reference would be filed in the Supreme Judicial Council and the judge would be given an opportunity of hearing, in case he declines the transfer.
If the council, he continued, gives report that the judge could not give valid reasons and should have joined where he had been transferred, then he would automatically stand retired.
PTI’s Saifullah Abro and JUIF’s Ahmad Khan voted for the amendment and did not join the walkout and protest later in the House during the course of passage of the bill. Their defection enabled the government to achieve the magical figure of 64, mandatory of adoption of a constitutional amendment.
Irfan Siddiqui of the PMLN is seriously ill while PPP’s Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani is chairman of the Senate. Later, Abro announced to resign as senator from the House, as he was allowed to speak. “I am resigning from the Senate membership today,” he said but in response to which Senate chairman remarked that ‘we will make you a senator again’.
Abro said that Pakistan’s victory in the Indo-Pak war is a source of pride for all of us, no president or prime minister has given the respect that US President Trump has given to our Field Marshal.
Addressing the law minister, he said that earlier (then law minister) Farogh Naseem used to do the same thing, now you are doing it, if PTI comes to power, then Barrister Ali Zafar will do the same thing. “My wife was arrested at the time of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, 10 of my family members were arrested, which PTI member did not raise his voice for me,” he complained.
Opposition party JUIF’s leader Maulana Attaur Rehman on the floor of the House, before the legislation, made it clear that they could not support the amendment, the way it was brought, without taking on board the political parties and public feedback.
However, Awami National Party President Aimal Wali Khan said his party would vote for the amendment but alleged the PMLN and PTI had caused immense damage to the Constitution in the last 12 years, and now the PPP had also joined them in doing so.
“Is not the secret document being devoid of its spirit by doing a few amendments for personal interests? Will this strengthen the federation and will not it impact the future generations’ relationship with the federation,” he asked.
He said having majority was a big responsibility and added that if it was fake as was the case in 2018 in the shape of RTS and then form 45. But he clarified that his party was backing the bill for the sake of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, its 50 million people and its resources and that it would never compromise on them.
After the amendment bill was adopted, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said establishment of a Federal Constitution Court was an unfinished agenda of the Charter of Democracy signed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party.
In his address after the bill’s passage, Leader of the House Ishaq Dar stated that the amendment was not a new concept but a fulfillment of the 2006 Charter of Democracy, which was signed by the country’s two major political parties and later endorsed by all others, including Imran Khan. He explained that for 23 years, there had been a consensus on the need for a Federal Constitutional Court to handle time-consuming constitutional appeals, a practice common in many countries. He firmly clarified that the seniority of existing Supreme Court judges, including the current chief justice, would remain completely unaffected. These changes, he noted, were made after consultation with the chief justice and other judges.
On the title of Field Marshal, Dar stated that the nation recognises Syed Asim Munir as a hero who has made the country proud. While the honor existed in regulations, the amendment now constitutionally incorporates five-star ranks for heroes from all three armed services, leading to the change in Article 243.
He expressed gratitude to allied parties and independent members for their support of the bill. Chairman Gilani, in his concluding remarks emphasised the opposition’s important role and his efforts to ensure their views were heard, which resulted in 47 speeches during the debate. He reflected on the unanimous nature of the 1973 Constitution and the 2006 Charter of Democracy, stressing the current effort to build maximum consensus. He expressed personal concern about population and education, suggesting the Council of Common Interests as a forum for consensus without needing a constitutional amendment.
The Senate will now meet again on Thursday afternoon. Earlier, the opposition parties’ alliance, Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) held a meeting chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, attended by Raja Nasir Abbas, Hamid Khan, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, and Humayun Mohmand.
The opposition announced that it would not participate in the voting process for the 27th Constitutional Amendment, stating it is against the spirit of the Constitution. According to a statement issued after the meeting, participating in an “unconstitutional process” deviates from the supremacy of the Constitution, arguing that the 27th Amendment is against the basic structure of the Constitution, parliamentary balance, and federal principles.
The opposition alliance stated that Parliament is not authorised to make any unilateral constitutional amendment, adding that the 27th Amendment lacks comprehensive national consensus.
The statement also said the protest would continue through constitutional, legal and democratic means, calling the amendment unconstitutional, undemocratic and ineffective. Meanwhile, a meeting of the joint parliamentary party of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the opposition alliance was held in the National Assembly. The meeting was co-chaired by proposed Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai and proposed Opposition Leader in the Senate Allama Nasir Abbas.
The meeting was attended by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Chief Whip Malik Amir Dogar, Barrister Ali Zafar, Latif Khosa, and other members of Parliament.
Malik Amir Dogar conducted the proceedings. This was the first meeting of the joint parliamentary party after the nomination of the opposition leaders by PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, and it involved detailed consultations on the opposition’s united action plan and future parliamentary strategy.
PTI parliamentary leader in the Senate Barrister Ali Zafar and the party’s secretary general Salman Akram Raja briefed the members on the proposed draft of the 27th Amendment. The members considered various aspects of the amendment in detail and expressed deep concern over it.
Senior leader Latif Khosa, while expressing his views on the proposed establishment of a constitutional court, said such amendments are against the basic structure of the Constitution. The participants unanimously expressed the position that an attempt is being made to weaken the Constitution of Pakistan, the Supreme Court, democracy and other constitutional institutions which is unacceptable.
The members of Parliament resolved to continue their vigorous struggle inside and outside Parliament to protect the supremacy of the Constitution, the independence of the judiciary, and democratic values.
It was decided that a resistance strategy against this proposed amendment would be formulated at the parliamentary and public levels in an upcoming joint opposition meeting. Meanwhile, PTI vehemently rejected the “highly controversial” 27th Amendment, vowing to use every legal and constitutional avenue—including peaceful public resistance—to thwart what it called the imposed regime’s nefarious conspiracy to dismantle democracy, bury judicial independence, cripple state institutions, and tighten its authoritarian grip to perpetuate the “fraud” of February 8, 2024.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram condemned PTI-backed senator Saifullah Abro for voting against the party line, describing him as a ‘traitor’ who “sold his conscience for petty interests,” betraying Imran Khan, the public mandate, and violating the Constitution.