ISLAMABAD – Following approval from the federal cabinet, the Senate passed the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill with a majority on Sunday.
65 members of the Upper House voted in favour of 22 clauses of the Bill. Four Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators abstained from voting.
Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the Bill which was supported by all the parties except the PTI.
The Law Minister stated that the 18th Amendment altered the process of appointing judges to the higher judiciary. He said that the hastily passed 19th Amendment disrupted the balance of the Constitution. He said the Judicial Commission, established under the 18th Amendment, was coerced into approving the 19th Amendment, and its inclination towards a particular institution reduced the authority of the parliamentary committee.
He said that Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa was not interested in any extension. He said that the CJP has insisted that any amendments would come into effect after his retirement.
PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar warned that without consensus, the Constitution could lose its strength. He said that amendments should reflect the people’s will.
He said that the PTI was excluded from the process of amending the constitution. He raised concerns about mistakes in the bill and predicted confusion over the role of constitutional benches.
