Raja Committee report: PTI opposed undoing amendment to Khatam-e-Nabuwwat clause

ISLAMABAD: Though PTI chief Imran Khan is desperately using religion-card in the election campaign, Raja Zafarul Haq Committee Report declares in categorical terms that not only the initial draft of the said amendment relating to ‘Khatam-e-Nabuwwat issue’ was drafted by a two-member subcommittee including a senior PTI leader but also when an amendment to undo this change was moved in the Senate, PTI opposed it while the PML-N supported the same.

The record of proceedings of the Senate present on official website of the Upper House also endorses the findings of the Raja Zafarul Haq Committee report.

Imran Khan while playing this religion-card is also continuously demanding making Raja Zafarul Haq Committee report public and this report not only shows his party as an architect of ‘Khatam-e-Nabuwwat issue’ related amendment but also declares when Hafiz Hamdullah of JUI-F noticed this change and moved a new amendment to undo the change in ‘Khatam-e-Nabuwwat’ related clauses, PTI and PPP openly opposed it. The Senate record also verifies the contents of the Raja Zafarul Haq Committee report findings regarding PTI opposing the Hafiz Hamdullah’ proposed amendment.

“(o) It was not till the Bill was taken for consideration in the Senate on September 22, 2017, that Senator Maulana Hafiz Hamdullah of JUI-F moved an amendment inter-alia to Clause 110 relating to the declaration for restoration of the expressions “on oath” and “solemnly swear”.

(p) Leader of the House in the Senate, Senator Raja Zafarul Haq supported the amendment moved by Senator Hafif Hamdullah. However, it was defeated by 34–13, when put to vote as opposition members from PPP and PTI opposed it,” reads the Raja Zafarul Haq Committee report. It is worth mentioning here that according to the Raja Zafarul Haq Committee report, the said change in clauses relating to “Khatam-e-Nabuwwat” were initially prepared by a two-member subcommittee comprising one member from PML-N and one from the PTI (names of these two persons are given in the report but are not being published here). There was no member from PPP or any other party in this committee which initially drafted this change in clauses relating to ‘Khatam-e-Nabuwwat’. The report hasn’t declared former law minister Zahid Hamid responsible for making this amendment though the minister was made to resign after all these happenings in Parliament. The committee however wrote that the law minister acknowledged that it was his responsibility to check whether the draft contained anything controversial so it was his failure that he could not notice this. It is worth mentioning here when the issue was highlighted in the Senate, the then law minister showed his full support to undo the same change however he could not convince the PTI and other parties to support the undoing of the ‘controversial’ change. PTI fully opposed Hafiz Hamdullah amendment in the Senate to undo this change and same is also proved from the record of the proceedings in the Senate at that time.