Shehbaz led PML-N delegation approached PPP to back 27th Amendment: Bilawal
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during an interview with Sky News on June 9, 2025. Photo: Sky News/ YouTube
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) delegation, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has met with Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari to seek support for the approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
The proposed amendment includes the creation of a constitutional court, the restoration of executive magistrates, and the power to transfer judges, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said. It also seeks to end the protection of provincial shares in the NFC Award and proposes changes to Article 243, he stated in a post on X today.
PMLN delegation headed by PM @CMShehbaz called on @AAliZardari & myself. Requested PPPs support in passing 27th amendment. Proposal includes; setting up Constitutional court, executive magistrates, transfer of judges, removal of protection of provincial share in NFC, amending…
"The amendment would return powers over education and population planning to the federal government and resolve the ongoing deadlock over appointments to the Election Commission".
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari noted that the party’s Central Executive Committee is due to meet on November 6, after Zardari returns from Doha, to decide on its policy.
27th Constitutional Amendment
The 26th Constitutional Amendment, passed in October of last year, has already become a controversial piece of legislation. The new rules curb the judicial system by giving Parliament and the bureaucracy greater control over the appointment and evaluation of judges.
It ended the exclusive reliance on seniority as the basis for appointing the Chief Justice of Pakistan, required the formation of constitutional benches to hear petitions under Articles 184(3) and 199 of the Constitution, and restructured the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the appointment and confirmation of judges, among other provisions.
Read more: In Pakistan, even judges are now under trial
The amendment is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court (SC) by several petitioners who argue that the independence of the judiciary has been sacrificed by the passing of this Amendment.
Currently, we are not aware of what exactly the 27th Constitutional Amendment will consist of, but discussions between PPP and PMLN are underway to put together the amendment.
Read: SC questions jurisdiction for full court under Article 191A in 26th Amendment case
When the 26th Amendment was passed last year, the ruling coalition of the PML-N and PPP had planned to establish a Federal Constitutional Court. However, the proposal failed to materialise due to the lack of a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Now that the coalition has a ruling majority, the idea of the Federal Constitutional Court may very possibly come to fruition.
To make the Federal Constitutional Court a reality, parliament must amend Article 175 of the Constitution, which currently provides for the Supreme Court, a high court for each province, and a high court for the Islamabad Capital Territory. The Article 175 would be amended to insert the Federal Constitutional Court immediately after the mention of the SC.