Govt to present constitutional amendments in next NA session

The government has decided to present the much-anticipated constitutional amendments during the next session of the National Assembly.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the Senate and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed this.

After a three-hour committee meeting, Senator Siddiqui explained that a detailed briefing was provided regarding the amendments.

He added that Maulana Fazlur Rehman does not fundamentally disagree with the amendments but has requested more time and assurances regarding the numbers.

Irfan says there is no issue with the number game, as the required votes are already in place.

Irfan noted that both houses of parliament are expected to adjourn indefinitely later today.

The new session will introduce the constitutional amendments once consensus is reached within the committee.

Irfan also commented on the role of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the process, stating that PTI members lack the authority to provide guarantees. This highlights the internal challenges the party faces. He added that the government understands the constraints faced by PTI.

The delay in presenting the amendments reflects the government's ongoing efforts to ensure consensus among political leaders before proceeding with the legislative process.

Deadlock delays constitutional bill

In a continuing political standoff, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition and the Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman remained at an impasse over the proposed constitutional package on Sunday.

Both the National Assembly and Senate, which were urgently convened to pass the proposed bill, ended their sessions without progress as the political leadership couldn't agree on draft amendments in a flurry of meetings that continued throughout the day, prolonging the political stalemate and delaying any potential resolution.

After changing the timing of the federal cabinet meeting and the parliamentary sessions, efforts were made to build consensus over changes in the package at Maulana's residence and during the special committee's meetings held at Parliament House.

The special committee meetings, chaired by Khursheed Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), met frequently but ended without reaching a resolution to the contentious issues, leaving the deadlock on the constitutional amendments unresolved.

The government presented the main points of the proposed amendments, but the draft was not provided to anyone. However, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said that the draft was shared with the JUI-F leadership.

However, JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri told The Express Tribune that no draft was shared with the party and everything was discussed verbally, adding that supporting what had not been shared in writing was difficult.

The opposition, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), argued that it would be premature to commit to any details once the draft was made available. Following the committee meeting, PPP leader Khursheed Shah said that consultations were ongoing within the committee.

Khursheed Shah explained that the draft of the proposed constitutional amendments could not be released until it was approved by the federal cabinet—a prerequisite for passing the constitutional amendment bills before they passed through parliament.

Sources said that the deadlock persisted on the extension of the chief justice of Pakistan and the establishment of the constitutional courts.

They said that the JUI-F had so far been opposing any extension and raised several questions.