In a significant development, Pakistan's National Assembly passed a key bill which was termed as a revolutionary move by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif aiming to reform the judicial system. The National Assembly passed the 26th Constitution Amendment Bill, capping the chief justice's tenure for three years, early on Monday. The bill got the nod of the House after an overnight debate.
According to Pakistan news outlet Dawn, during the voting in the 336-member National Assembly, 225 members supported the bill. The government needed 224 votes to pass the amendment. The Senate voted 65-4 on Sunday to approve the amendment with the required two-thirds majority. The ruling coalition needed the support of 64 members in the upper house of the parliament.
Following its passage in both Houses of parliament, the bill will be sent to the president for his assent under Article 75 of the Constitution, according to Geo News. The bill, approved by the cabinet on Sunday with the consensus among the ruling coalition partners, was presented in the Senate by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The bill included 22 clauses of amendments. The upper house passed the bill clause-wise and all clauses got the support of 65 senators. The magic number was achieved in the Senate after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's five senators and two lawmakers of Balochistan National Party-Mengal voted in favour of the bill. The BNP-M favoured the amendment despite, violating the party line to abstain during the process.
12-member commission to appoint the chief justice
The bill proposes to set up a 12-member commission to appoint the chief justice who will be appointed for three years.
The Cabinet approved the proposed draft of the controversial bill during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after seeking consensus from the coalition partners, his office said. According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the cabinet decided to approve the bill “in the wider interest of the country while adhering to the oath of national development and public welfare."
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz met with President Asif Ali Zardari for detailed discussions on the proposed constitutional amendment, during which the president was briefed and consulted, Express News reported. Addressing a press conference before the start of the Senate session, Law Minister Tarar said that a new body is being created to appoint the judges. He said before the 18th Amendment, judges were appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Who are the members of the appointment committee?
He said the 'new-face' commission would consist of the Chief Justice, four senior-most apex court judges, two senators and two national assembly members MNAs - one of each will be from the opposition.
He said that the changes in the law would help to expedite the dispensation of justice by the apex court.
Coercion is being applied to get the amendment approved: PTI
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Zafar was the first to speak in the Senate on the bill. In a scathing criticism, he accused his party lawmakers of being forced to vote in favour of the bill. He said his party senators were absent as they feared abduction to be forced to vote for the government. "It is against the law and morality that coercion is being applied to get the amendment approved," he said while speaking in the Senate.
He also urged the chairman senate not to count the vote of any PTI senator if any of them voted in the senate. Zafar came to the house to give his party position despite his party saying in a statement that its political committee decided to boycott the voting process in both houses of the parliament.
Earlier, after a meeting with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that the party had “no objections” to the final draft, but will not vote on the bill when it is presented in parliament.
"Our leader Imran Khan will always have the final say on party decisions, so we act on his instructions and recommendations," he said.
"He (Imran) instructed us to have more consultations before voting since this legislation is so serious." Rehman said on the occasion that he had no objections to the PTI's decision to not vote on the bill. "We have reached a consensus with the PTI, but given their condition and what they have been through, it is their right to boycott the vote," Fazl had said. "We have made efforts, but if a party has a strong position, we will accept that."
Pakistan People's Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who made elaborate efforts for the bill to be passed, said that the government would move forward with the amendment whether the PTI voted in favour of it or not.
"We have waited for as long as we could, and today, under any circumstance, this work will be completed," Bilawal had told reports at the Senate. Strict security arrangements were made for the session of the National Assembly, with guest entry strictly prohibited, according to the assembly's spokesperson.
(With PTI inputs)
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