Pakistan passes constitutional amendment bill to dilute power of judiciary

The Senate on Sunday passed the controversial 26th Constitution Amendment Bill, capping Pakistan's Chief Justice tenure for three years, amid opposition from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party.

The upper house of the parliament voted 65-4 to approve the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill with the required two-thirds majority. The government needed the support of 64 members.

The bill, approved by the cabinet earlier in the day with the consensus among the ruling coalition partners, was presented in the Senate by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

"I... wish to introduce a bill further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Constitution 26th Amendment Bill, 2024, Tarar said as he presented the bill in the upper house.

"Is it opposed?" asked Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, to which he received no response from the Senate members.

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 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.

"Sixty-five members are in favour of the motion regarding the bill and four oppose the bill.and consequently the bill has been passed, Gilani said, announcing the result.

The bill set up a 12-member commission to appoint the chief justice who will be appointed for three years.

The bill will now go to the National Assembly, where it needs a two-thirds majority to clear the hurdle. Finally, it should receive the nod of the president to become part of the constitution.

Earlier in the day, 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.

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.