NA passes 27th Amendment Bill with two-third majority

Establishment of Constitutional Court has fulfilled 19-year-old dream: PM

Judiciary will no longer have the authority to take suo motu actions: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill during a ruckus-marred session attended by political heavyweights, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

The bill was passed by a two-way voting process — voting by division and clause-by-clause voting. Presented in the house for voting by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the bill will now be referred back to the Senate for the new amendments to be debated upon again and then will be passed by the upper house.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said the bill received 234 votes in favour and four against.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said the house exhibited solidarity and national unity was promoted. He thanked the lawmakers on his behalf and that of the nation.

The Prime Minister vowed that no obstacle would be allowed to hinder Pakistan’s path to progress and prosperity.

He urged the Afghan Taliban regime to curb the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), stressing that Pakistan had hosted Afghans for 40 years and now expected responsible action in return.

The prime minister said the establishment of the Constitutional Court had fulfilled a 19-year-old dream and reflected the spirit of the Charter of Democracy. He appreciated the opposition’s right to disagree but urged political leaders to move beyond hostility and work together for national development. “If provinces are strong, the federation will be stronger,” he said, echoing Bilawal Bhutto’s remarks and praising Parliament for demonstrating unity.

Moreover, as soon law minister as Tarar, who had tabled the bill during yesterday’s NA session, began today’s speech, opposition members gathered near the speaker’s dais to register their protest. After that, they staged a walkout from the assembly.

The law minister said that consultation with the legal fraternity showed that there was confusion about the continuity of the chief justice of Pakistan’s position. “To remove this confusion, I will introduce an appropriate amendment in which it will be clarified that the current CJP … will remain the CJP,” he added.

He also mentioned Article 6 of the Constitution, saying that, as per the 18th Amendment, neither the Supreme Court nor any high court could ratify the abrogation of the Constitution. Now, the law minister said, the constitutional court was also added to the list to remove any confusion.

Bilawal Bhutto scion’s speech was marred by opposition benches and PTI’s sloganeering in favour of party founder Imran Khan.

Bilawal said terrorism was once again on the rise in the country, but added that Pakistan had managed to defeat the menace before and would do so again.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that following the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the judiciary will no longer have the authority to take suo motu actions.

He noted that the PPP and PML-N had faced the “consequences” of suo motu powers, especially during the tenure of former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry

The PPP chairman said his party decided to support the changes in Article 243 in the “context that Pakistan is going through a situation of war”.

The PPP chief said his party had decided to give constitutional cover to the field marshal after the way he and the military received praise after the May conflict against India. Staff Report