Constitutional package may go through by 25th: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Wednesday said the timeline for the passage of constitutional package did not matter for the party but he felt that the amendments may go through by October 25.

“It does not matter who the chief justice will be, nor is there any deadline for the amendment, but it does matter that no chief justice should behave like Iftikhar Chaudhry,” he said in an informal conversation with journalists here at the Zardari House.

Bilawal said that the timeline for the passage of proposed constitutional amendment could be important for the government but not for the PPP. “PPP’s effort was to take all political parties, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, along with it on the amendments,” he added.

He said when the JUIF would share its draft, then they would sit and discuss their draft and after discussion, they will try to create a consensus. “It is not a matter of timeline or deadline for us to pass the proposed constitutional amendment but it could be for the government. If there is a consensus, the constitutional amendment could be passed by October 25,” he said.

He acknowledged the government’s option to proceed with a vote based on conscience but reiterated the PPP’s commitment to seeking a broader agreement for the passage of constitutional amendments with political consensus.

To a question, he said Justice Munib has made his mind clear in the decision of 63-A of Constitution.

Bilawal said the PPP and JUIF strongly opposed amendments to Articles 8 and 51 of the Constitution on military courts and reserved seats. “Maulana Fazl agreed on constitutional courts and judicial reforms while the government also wants to amend Article 8 and 51 on reserved seats. But PPP and JUIF have refused to support the changes,” he said.

He said the PPP wanted constitutional court in the provinces also. “Even if the issue of constitutional courts in the provinces is not settled today, I am sure it will happen one day,” he said. Bilawal further said that the order of the Supreme Court came on a holiday, which even the chief justice was not aware of.

To a question on the meeting of five bigwigs at the President House on Monday, he said there was discussion about the issue of Palestine but “when politicians sit together, then there must have been a serious discussion”.

To a query with regard to PTI founder chairman Imran Khan, the PPP chairman said the PTI founder and his party were given a chance on the issue, but they have shown indifference. “If the PTI founder had taken political decisions from April 2022, he would have been the prime minister again today,” he said.

He said that Imran Khan did not have democratic and political thinking as he still wanted to talk to the establishment instead of politicians. “Is this a democratic attitude? I don’t see a bright political future for PTI founder,” he said. He said when they formed a parliamentary committee for political consensus, the PTI also boycotted that.

To another question, the PPP chairman said as long as there was the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), political engineering will continue in the country.