The standing committees on law and justice of both houses of Parliament approved on Sunday the draft of a bill for a 27th Constitutional Amendment after some changes, Senator Farooq H. Naek told reporters after a meeting convened to deliberate on the proposed changes.
Yesterday, the bill for Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025 was tabled before the Senate hours after it was approved by the federal cabinet, triggering noisy protests from the opposition over the pace and scope of the proposed changes.
The bill proposes the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), changes to the appointment process for high court judges, a higher cap on provincial cabinets, and changes to the military leadership structure.
Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice Chairperson Senator Farooq H. Naek and his counterpart for the National Assembly panel, MNA Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk, are co-chairing today’s meeting.
The standing committees are also likely to finalise the mechanism for the transfer of high court judges through the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) — a process which may not require the consent of the judges being transferred.
The panels cleared nearly 80 per cent of the proposed bill yesterday in a joint in-camera meeting, including most clauses of the judicial reforms package.
But deliberations on the field marshal’s status under Article 243 (command of the armed forces) of the Constitution were deferred to today.
Lawmakers of the PTI, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) continued their boycott of the parliamentary committee today.
Tarar and Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik were among those who participated in today’s meeting. Deputy PM and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar briefly attended the proceedings.
PML-N Senator Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Awami National Party’s (ANP) Hidayatullah Khan, and PPP MNAs Kasim Gilani and Syed Abrar Ali Shah were also part of the joint moot, while PML-N MNA Shumaila Rana attended via video link.
“Day 2 of the Parliamentary Committee on law and justice,” Gilani wrote on X.
In another post, he summarised that the 27th Constitutional Amendment “mainly touches 5 key areas: establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court, transfer of judges (Article 200), fixing the KP Senate election anomaly, [two per cent] cabinet size increase on smaller provinces’ demand (Article 130(6)), [and] amendments in Article 243 on defence services & presidential immunity.
“All other changes are merely consequential,” the PPP lawmaker added.
Discussion remaining on 3 points: Naek
Midway through the meeting, the participants took a break, during which Naek spoke to the media. He said, “Discussion on three points was left to be completed — transfers of cases from one high court to another high court, transfer of judges from high court to another high court and Article 243 (command of the armed forces).”
The discussion on the these matters would be resumed after lunch, he said, adding that some objections had been raised pertaining to transfer of judges and cases.
“Discussions are ongoing regarding this and it is hoped that a consensus would be reached,” he said.
Prior to today’s meeting, Naek told reporters that all provisions of the bill will be deliberated upon today.
Asked about suggestions made by various ruling allies and whether “two parties had come face to face on the immunity for the president and prime minister”, the PPP senator affirmed that all parties had a right to voice their opinion.
Noting that the proposals of the PML-N and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) will be considered in today’s meeting, Naek said, “Decisions will be taken based on whatever the majority’s opinion is.”
During another break, ANP’s Hidayatullah Khan told reporters that the committee had sought time until yesterday to decided on his party’s suggestion for changing the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that on the clause regaridng changing the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was discussed the provinces be taken into confidence. MQM-P’s suggestion regarding local governments was also discussed. He added that now the participants had been given “time to consult their parties’ leaderships”.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said while speaking to the media that and all the decisions reached by the committees would be presented in the Senate in the form of a report.
‘85pc of the work has been completed’
Earlier, Tarar said while speaking to the media that the joint committee has completed “85 per cent of the work” and expressed the hope that the deliberations would be over by the evening.
Tarar also highlighted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directives issued earlier today to withdraw the amendments proposing legal immunity for premiers.
Referring to the JUI-F’s absence, the law minister said its members had informed the committee yesterday about their party’s policy. He said parliamentary parties should utilise their right to vote, rather than boycotting the process altogether.
After yesterday’s meeting, Tarar had told reporters that all parliamentary parties were participating in the process and that the government had also “requested the opposition to contribute constructively”.
“Till the time we do not reach a consensus, from all members of both Houses, the discussions will continue,” the law minister had said.
Opposition to the bill
The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), which includes the PTI, has announced a nationwide protest movement against the 27th Amendment, urging the people to take a stand against the “extremely dark and dangerous” change in the Constitution.
PTI parliamentary leader Barrister Ali Zafar has contended that the debate on the bill was inappropriate in the absence of a notified leader of the opposition. He accused the government and its allies of being in a “hurry” to pass the amendments.
“These amendments strike at the very foundation of the constitutional structure by undermining the independence of the judiciary and eroding the delicate balance of powers that the 1973 Constitution so carefully created,” he told Dawn.
However, the PML-N and the PPP have rejected the impression that the 27th Amendment bill was rushed through without proper debate, saying the draft has undergone “extensive scrutiny”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had held consultations with multiple ruling allies on Thursday, meeting with the top leadership of the MQM-P, the PML-Q, the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), the ANP and the PML-Zia.
However, no meeting was reported between the government and the PTI.
Additional reporting by Abdullah Momand
