ISLAMABAD – The draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment will be tabled in the Senate today (Monday) following its approval by the joint parliamentary committee of the Senate and National Assembly on Law and Justice.
As per the agenda issued for the Senate sitting, the report of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice on the proposed amendment will be presented in the House. Senator Farooq H. Naek will table the committee’s report while the federal law minister will move the bill for formal approval.
A day earlier, the joint parliamentary committee had approved the entire draft of the proposed constitutional amendment after clause-by-clause consideration of 49 amendments. The committee also approved provisions related to the establishment of constitutional courts and changes to Article 243 of the Constitution following detailed deliberations.
The committee further endorsed an amendment extending the period for deciding pending cases from six months to one year. Under the new proposal, any case not pursued for a year will be deemed disposed of.
However, members of the opposition parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), boycotted the committee meeting in protest.
Sources said that the government’s coalition partners have yet to finalize their stance on certain proposed amendments. Among these is the Awami National Party’s (ANP) demand to change the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The government has assured the ANP that its concerns will be addressed. However, it has sought more time to review the proposal to increase the number of assembly seats in Balochistan.
Sources added that both matters will be discussed further, and a final decision is expected today.
Chairman of the joint parliamentary committee, Senator Farooq H. Naek, said the committee had authorized him and the law minister to make some final adjustments to the draft before it is presented in the Senate.
