Senator Irfan Siddiqui hospitalised with respiratory complications

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) due to respiratory-related complications, his family confirmed on Monday.

The family said Senator Siddiqui has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad for the past few days.

The development came as the upper house of parliament is scheduled to meet today to discuss and pass the 27th Constitutional Amendment bill.

Senator Siddiqui, a vocal PML-N stalwart, was expected to cast his vote in today’s Senate sitting on the amendment, but he is now likely to miss the session.

A day earlier, a joint committee comprising legislators from the Senate and the National Assembly's standing committees on law and justice approved the complete draft of the proposed 27th constitutional amendment.

The joint committee session was chaired by Senator Farooq H Naek and MNA Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk.

According to the agenda issued for the session, Senator Farooq H Naek will present the standing committee’s report on the amendment, while the law minister will move the bill for approval.

However, opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), and Majlis-e-Wahdatul-Muslimeen (MWM), boycotted the session as their members did not turn up for the meeting.

A day earlier, the joint parliamentary committee granted clause-by-clause approval to 49 proposed amendments.

The draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, already approved by the cabinet, will be presented in the Upper House today, with the session scheduled for 11 am.