AS the National Assembly passed the Constitution’s 27th Amendment Bill with more changes, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized the need for amending the formula for the National Finance Commission (NFC), apparently to strengthen the financial position of the Federation, which faces paucity of resources after distribution of much of the share of the divisible pool among provinces. Speaking on the floor of the House, he, however, said there could not be any change in the 18th amendment without consultations. In a related development, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, once again, declared that the devolution, as provided in the 18th amendment, cannot be undone.
Buoyed by its numerical strength in the parliament, the Government is hinting at the possibility of introducing more amendments to the Constitution as, apart from the Prime Minister, his advisor on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah also hinted at such changes when he said there could also be 28th amendment relating to education, population and the local government. However, there is a growing impression that the Constitution has repeatedly been altered by successive governments to suit their political agendas and that these amendments, with some exemptions, had hardly anything to do with improvement of the system, welfare of the people and protection of their genuine rights. The fact that amendments are carried out in a hurried manner and without an in-depth study was highlighted once again when the National Assembly passed a different version of the 27th amendment just a day after the upper house adopted the bill and sent it to the lower house. This is despite the fact that the draft amendment bill was considered and debated by the joint meeting of the relevant standing committees of the two houses and an approved version was presented in the Senate. Additional amendments were introduced mainly to incorporate the newly setup Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) in the scheme of the Constitution and to provide clarity regarding the incumbent and future chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) since the new constitutional court means it will have its own chief justice (CJFCC), along with the chief justice of the Supreme Court (CJSC). It has been clarified that the incumbent chief justice shall be and continue to be known as the chief justice of Pakistan during his term in office. After CJP Yahya Afridi’s term comes to an end, the future CJP will be the senior-most judge from the chief justices of the Federal Constitution Court and the Supreme Court.
Some changes related to the oath-taking of the Constitutional offices. No doubt, there is nothing wrong in the procedure adopted as the Constitution allows reconsideration of a bill by the original house if the version approved by it was changed by the other house but it indicates lack of proper studies for drafting laws. This is the main reason we are now witnessing practical difficulties in the implementation of all provisions of the 18th amendment, especially those relating to distribution of resources and devolution of some subjects. The Prime Minister is talking about consensus on revision of the 18th amendment but it will, most likely, remain an elusive dream as we have also witnessed in the case of Kalabagh Dam project, which is technically and economically viable but stands discarded because of politically motivated controversies. Otherwise too, how can a consensus be evolved when the Opposition has announced to come on streets in protest against the 27th Amendment, which it sees as a negation of the spirit of the Constitution and the democracy? Instead of pursuing issues with potential to sow more seeds of discord, the Government and the Opposition should accept the offer of Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for a dialogue as this is the only way out.
