\u2018Constitutional package\u2019
\nKhawaja Asif rules out politics, says amendment draft aims at removing constitutional imbalance
\nislamabad
\nTreasury and opposition benches on Monday engaged in a heated debate during the National Assembly session amid the ongoing political saga revolving around the incumbent government\u2019s prospective constitutional amendment bill.
\nToday\u2019s lower house of parliament session comes after the ruling coalition apparently failed to manage the required numbers i.,e a two-thirds majority in parliament despite strenuous efforts on Sunday which arguably centred around Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman\u2019s assent to the proposed amendments.
\nThe session, originally scheduled to commence at 11am yesterday finally got underway late night and was then deferred till today has now been adjourned indefinitely.
\nThe possibility of the prospective constitutional amendments comes amid speculations revolving around an extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa \u2014 who is set to retire in October this year \u2014 after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sought an early issuance of notification regarding the next top judge last month.
\nHowever, the government needs to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament to successfully pass any constitutional amendment.
\nAfter yesterday\u2019s efforts failed to convince the JUI-F head to lend his support, senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Irfan Siddiqui, while speaking to Geo News earlier in the day, claimed that the government\u2019s bid to table the constitutional package has been \u201cpostponed indefinitely\u201d.
\nHe revealed that though Fazl\u2019s \u201carguments were well-justified\u201d and didn\u2019t oppose the amendments on principle grounds, adding that he needed more time to review the amendment draft.
\nConstitutional equilibrium in focus
\nSpeaking on the NA floor, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that in the government\u2019s opinion, the constitutional amendment draft aimed at removing the constitutional imbalance and there was no politics involved in it.
\nThe constitution allowed the parliament to legislate, he said.
\nHe said the amendment draft had been talk of the town for few days, when a consensus would be reached on it then it would be floated in the House.
\n\u201cAs per the wishes of 250 million people, the institution has to be respected as mentioned in the Constitution.
\n\u201cThe constitutional court exists in several countries of the world. It is not that this court will be run by the government, it will also be run by the judiciary,\u201d he said, apprising the assembly that 2.7 million cases were pending in the courts.
\nThe defence minister remarked that parliament\u2019s role in appointing judges should not be a rubber stamp. Their role should be a manifestation of the people\u2019s power, he maintained.
\nAsif noted the draft\u2019s summary had been presented before the parliament and in his opinion nobody would differ with it.
\nCommenting on the negotiations on the said amendments, Adviser to Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah said that meetings with the JUI-F chief were not \u201cabortive\u201d but they achieved results.
\nHe added that Fazl and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had decided to broaden the scope of consultation for the good of democracy.
\n\u201cIt is not something fruitless or a matter of winning or losing,\u201d he said, adding that today\u2019s NA meeting would be adjourned indefinitely to complete the consultation process.
\nAmendment should be debated in House
\nAddressing the session, PTI leader Asad Qaiser thanked the speaker for issuing production orders for his party leaders. He also saluted Fazl for his bravery and courage over his stance on the constitutional amendments.
\nQaiser said the law minister himself said he did not have the draft, questioning where did the draft come from.
\n\u201cThe government must bring amendments but first they should be discussed in the House. Whereas, you are sneakily legislating in the night during holidays,\u201d he said.
\nHe said if the government wanted to introduce a law, it should be shared with the bar association and debated in the house so that people could know about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Constitutional package\u2019 Khawaja Asif rules out politics, says amendment draft aims at removing constitutional imbalance islamabad Treasury and opposition benches on Monday engaged in a heated debate during the National Assembly session amid the ongoing political saga revolving around the incumbent government\u2019s prospective constitutional amendment bill. Today\u2019s lower house of parliament session comes after the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-431673","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n