ISLAMABAD – A political turmoil continues in Pakistan as the government aims at introducing a slew of constitutional amendments with opposition strongly raising voice against it.
The amendment bill aims at making major changes to Pakistan’s judicial and parliamentary systems. However the government could not table the bill in the parliament due to resistance from opposition, including JUI-F, as it requires 224 seats to get the bill sailed through the parliament.
The ruling coalition has 214 seats in the lower house and 54 seats in Senate. If Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman agrees to assure his 13 members in both houses of the parliament, the government can easily get the amendment bill passed.
Constitutional Amendment Package
Under the amendment package, Articles 51, 63, 175, 181, 184, 185, 186, 187 are to be amended, with the major part of the judicial reforms being the establishment of a Constitutional Court separate from the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which Chief Justice and four other judges would be appointed jointly by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and the Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice.
Other proposed changes in the constitution include role of the Supreme Court in Presidential references, transfer of High Court judges to other provinces, and reformation of the Defection Clause.
A part of the amendment also includes raising the number of Balochistan Assembly seats from 65 to 81.
