The passage of the 27th amendment has been cleared. as the joint parliamentary committee of the Senate and the National Assembly has approved all clauses of the proposed amendment.
The report will be presented in the Senate tomorrow, while further consideration of the amendments proposed by coalition parties will take place the same day.
Consensus has been reached on the approval of the amendment. The committee has endorsed the basic draft containing most of the proposed changes. Members have agreed in principle to grant the President immunity during and after his tenure, although the extent of that immunity is yet to be decided.
According to the proposed amendment, the President shall have the authority to transfer a High Court judge on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission. However, a Chief Justice of a High Court cannot be transferred, and a transferred judge shall not be senior to the Chief Justice of the court to which he is moved. It has also been agreed that Constitutional Courts shall be established, and any case without progress for one year shall be considered disposed of.
Among the agreed provisions is the prime minister’s authority to appoint seven advisers. The proposal to increase the number of advisers to the Chief Ministers has also been reviewed. The committee will present its report in the Senate, after which the process of securing approval for the constitutional amendment will begin.
The meeting also discussed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s proposed amendment concerning local government representatives and development funds. However, the Pakistan Peoples Party raised objections to the MQM’s proposals, while other coalition partners presented three additional amendments. The proposal to remove the word Khyber from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and rename the province Pakhtunkhwa was also considered, along with the suggestion to increase the number of seats in the Balochistan Assembly.
It is pertinent to note that any constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both Houses. At present, the support of 64 senators and 224 members of the National Assembly is necessary. Thirty senators occupy the opposition benches, who are expected to oppose the amendment.
