Cabinet delays meeting on 27th Amendment draft

NFC Award likely to be revised, FM gets constitutional powers, judiciary sees another round of reforms

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has finalised an initial draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif having consulted coalition partners on the proposal. Following its approval in today's federal cabinet meeting, the amendment bill is set to be presented in the Senate.

What we're hearing about the initial draft:

Article 243

• Amended Article 243 to rename the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to Strategic Command, and a new position added to the Constitution
• Reintroduce and regularise the post of Field Marshal

Article 160

• The Centre gets a bigger chunk of the pie, with its share in National Finance Commission (NFC) Awards increasing by 10% — from 42.5% to 52.5

Articles 199 & 200

• The role of the president and prime minister in judicial appointments will be reduced, with more power vested in the Supreme Judicial Commission
• A nine-member federal constitutional court to replace the existing constitutional bench in the Supreme Court
• Retirement age for judges of both the Supreme Court and the federal constitutional court goes up by two years — from 68 to 7

Other proposed changes

• In the event of a deadlock over the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner, the matter will be referred to the Supreme Judicial Commission
• Provinces handover autonomy over education and health sectors (18th Amendment) to the Centre

Read: Judiciary in spotlight as govt readies constitutional bill

The PPP has rejected all proposed amendments in the 27th Constitutional Amendment except for the amendment concerning Article 243. The meeting of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) that convened yesterday will continue today as well.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman convened a meeting of the party's parliamentary group. The meeting is to be held today at Maulana Fazlur Rehman's residence. The party is to discuss the prevailing political situation and the proposed 27th amendment.

Political discourse

The Federal Cabinet is due to convene this morning at Parliament House to discuss the initial draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment presented by Law Minister Azam Tarar. The proposed bill will then be tabled before the Senate.

Under Article 239 of the Constitution of Pakistan, a rigorous constitutional process must be followed for the approval of any amendment. From the Senate, the draft is to be referred to the relevant standing committee, which will then pass it on to the Parliament's joint standing committee for final approval.

Read more: 27th Amendment — What we know so far

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, outside the Islamabad High Court, spoke to the media and urged the PPP to reject the amendment package.  Commenting on the proposed changes to Articles 199 & 200 he added, "Until judges stand up for themselves, the judiciary cannot be free. I urge the judiciary, democratic forces, and the public to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution." 

Yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with delegations from all the coalition partners, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). He also met with representatives from Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Awami National Party (ANP) and Istehkam-e-Pakistan.