- Not yet cleared who floated halfcocked Constitutional Amendment at a time when nothing is going in favour of Justice Faz Isa despite his Mrs launching a stauch propaganda campaign against Imran Khan & Mrs Bushra Imran in her series of interviews lime lighted now on social media.
- Nothing is in favour of RaJa Sikandar Sultan Chairman ECP Pakistan who has transgreed his powers almost everyday with the Ashirbad of CJ Supreme Court ,Parliament, President House & even higher than that.He is too trying to be again part of BADMASHIA?
- Would Pakistan Army ask their worthy Defense Minister & other vocal/arrogant figures & media anchors who openly said the draft of Constitutional Amendment came from GHQ for immediate approval & that they are trying Imran Khan under Military Court Jurisdiction or Gen Faiz Hameed has agreed to be approver or WADDA MAAF GAWAF against Imran Khan.
- Folks te things are being seem tipsy turvy now sat a time when American Senior official & Russian Diplomats are visiting Pakistan & ?& PM Shahbaz Sharif is on USA visit while senior representatives of the legal community will now review the proposed amendments and share their recommendations.
- During a meeting between Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), it was agreed that a committee comprising bar representatives will deliberate on the proposals for significant changes to the country's judicial system, including the formation of a Federal Constitutional Court.
- The committee will include the vice chairman and executive committee chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council; the president and general secretary of the SCBA and the vice chairmen and executive committee chairmen of the provincial bar councils.
- The committee will submit its report in seven days. It was agreed that in the final draft of the amendment package, the proposal of the legal fraternity will be incorporated.
- After the meeting, the SCBA also issued a statement, which while acknowledging that parliament has the authority to amend the Constitution also noted that such amendments should not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.
- The bar declared that the final draft of the constitutional amendments will be shared with the committee of lawyers' representatives.The statement said formation of a constitutional court should be done after consultation with lawyers, and the SCBA's petition against the judicial decision on Article 63-A should be scheduled for a hearing.
1. After failing to secure the support of one of its former allies, the JUI-F, for passing a controversial constitutional amendment package in parliament, the ruling party has finally moved to address the concerns of the legal fraternity. Concerning the earlier proceedings Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar Speech as follows:-
- After the drop seen of the s Parliament is Superior to Judiciary BY PDM-II & their allies fever of the Constitutional Amendment VICTORY on 14 September. Mian Nawaz Sharif left Islamabad by midnight inn sheer worry, next day Federal Law Minister told the National Assembly that a controversial ‘Constitutional Package
’ needed to be presented before the federal cabinet before consensus . Which was not done & he had no clue of what was going on?
- The proposed legislation, which had been kept out of the public eye, much to the irritation of the?opposition
?as well as government allies on Sunday in a bid to take the opposition on board.
- The package is a set of amendments to the Constitution, one of which will aim to fix the tenure of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years.
- The government failed to table it over the weekend as previously scheduled despite?hectic efforts
?to gather the required support.
- The proposed amendments had “not yet been presented before the federal cabinet. As per procedure, a constitutional amendment first need to be cleared by the federal cabinet.
- The PTI, which has complained that no draft of the legislation was presented in the three-hour-long meeting, has made “all possible efforts
” to stop the government from introducing the package.
- The situation in the NA would likely still be tricky as even with the JUI-F’s potential support, it would fall short of three votes.
- Atta Tarar said the process of talks has been started with the parliamentary parties in both houses on the constitutional package (blatant lie).
- The minister now asked the opposition parties to come up with positive recommendations instead of undue criticisms, assuring them that those would be accommodated.
- Detailing the process to pass a constitutional amendment, Tarar said it is to be first approved by the federal cabinet, after which the CCLC which he said comprised of all coalition partners reviewed the legislation thoroughly.
- After the federal cabinet greenlights it, it was then the government’s prerogative whether to introduce the bill in the NA or the Senate, Tarar added.
- The proposed package envisaged the formation of the judicial commission as per the spirit of the 18th Amendment and it was proposed to empower the commission to evaluate the performance of high court judges.
2.???????Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the much-touted legislation was, in the ruling coalition’s opinion, an “attempt to correct constitutional imbalances, especially regarding the parliament”.
- It is an attempt to undo the?19th Amendment
,” Asif added, referring to legislation that envisaged a new system for appointments in the superior courts.“
- The Constitution gave the lawmakers the “right” to introduce laws to ensure that the “institution that represents 250 million people remains empowered and robust as defined by the Constitution”.
- The “basis” of the legislation was the Charter of Democracy signed in 2006 by ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, highlighting that PTI was also a part of it.“Instead of enacting legislation specific to our political interest, that basic document should be regarded as the beacon and followed,” he added.
- “Neither was there any politics in this entire process nor was it being given a political angle,”The legislation was to “undo the new insertion” into Article 63A’s interpretation of lawmakers’ votes not being counted if they voted against their party stance. “What political interest can there be [in advocating] that a vote that is cast is counted?”
- On the appointments of superior courts’ judges, Asif said, “We do not want to trespass on the turf of any institution but want to assert this parliament’s existence .Our role should not be that of a rubber stamp.”
3?? .Senator Irfan Siddiqui of the ruling PML-N said sessions of both houses “would next be called when we would be prepared from all angles to introduce a constitutional amendment”.
- It was our wish that this [legislation is passed] within two days , the senator asked if it was possible for the matter to be delayed for months, he replied in the negative, adding that in his opinion, the legislation would be tabled within a week or two.
- The PML-N senator termed Fazl’s reasons behind his concerns as “very effective and rational”. Siddiqui quoted Fazl as saying he “did not have a principle difference” on some of the proposed legislation but stressed the need for time to review the package.
- In a separate talk to reporters, Siddiqui said Fazl and the government had concurred with each other’s opinions to “wait a few days more” to introduce the legal package.
4?? .PTI considering boycotting sessions: ?On the opposition side, former NA speaker and PTI leader Asad Qaiser said his party was considering boycotting the parliament sessions. “I will suggest the party to boycott the proceedings of the Parliament and the Standing Committees — there is no other way,” he told? adding that PTI was ready to “challenge the proposed constitutional amendment in court”.
- The former NA speaker said it was wrong “to expect anything more from the Parliament and the only way forward was to involve the citizens in this war”.“The protest movement is starting there is no other option,” the PTI leader added.Meanwhile, speaking in the NA today, Qaiser strongly condemned the “use of Parliament as a rubber stamp”, saying it had been turned into a joke.He especially thanked Fazl for “fighting bravely”.
- PTI’s Asad Qaiser speaks in the NA on Sept 16, 2024, that according to the special committee’s report, the law minister said he had no knowledge of the proposed draft. “So if a government representative does not know, then where has this document come from?” Are we enemies of the state?” he questioned on the floor of the house, to the applause of other lawmakers.
- “We want that there are judicial reforms, that people get advantage”. “If you want to bring amendments, definitely bring them [but] debate and discuss them. ”Highlighting that the amendments were to impact “all 250m people in this country”,
- Qaiser asked: “Is this how you wanted to pass the bill, in the dark of the night like thieves, on Saturday and Sunday night?” ’When you want to do lawmaking, when you have a proposal of this sort, you need to make it public.“
·????? He reiterated his condemnation of “what unfolded in this House in the last 24 hours” and vowed to continue fighting “this oppression”.
6?? .Naveed Qamar said amendment needs everyone’s input, Naveed Qamar referenced what Qaiser said earlier about the bill being a win for one party and a loss for another, saying that if there was a win or loss, it would be for all of parliament.
- He emphasized that an amendment like this can only happen with everyone’s input, “Don’t look at everything from the lens of today’s politics,”Go beyond today, look at things in the next five, 10 years.”
- He also criticized the belief many parties had that having a particular judge in power is beneficial to them, while another judge is detrimental.
- “When we talk about the protection of parliament or the rights of parliament, this is not a PPP issue or a PTI issue. “Look at it from the right perspective, let us sit down and talk about it.”
6?? .Political activity over the weekend
- It is believed that the opposition as well as government allies eventually discuss the Constitutional Package at the special parliamentary committee’s meeting on Sept 15, 2024. ???
- After convening a JUI-F parliamentary party meeting, the politically astute Fazl met with a government team comprising Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
- He was then approached by the opposition delegation led by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan around 6pm, where they even offered evening prayers led by the JUI-F chief.
- Although there was no official word on what was discussed behind closed doors, insiders told? that PTI had?supposedly offered
?Fazl’s son Asad Mehmood a seat in the National Assembly, encouraging him to join what the party terms its “popular movement for restoration of true democracy in the country”.
7? .JUI-F sources indicated that two of Maulana’s demands included governorship in KP and a slot in parliament for his son Asad, apart from some space in the federal cabinet. The PPP has reportedly offered to have Asad elected as a senator from Sindh.
- Sources close to Balochistan lawmakers confided that interior minister Naqvi has offered the JUI-F chief the slot of Balochistan chief minister in return for his support, as well as the possibility that Asad Mehmood could become an MPA from that province.
- The emphasis of the government seems to be on securing the magic number required for the passage of the amendment 224 in the case of the National Assembly and 64 in the Senate.
8?? .However, despite tall claims that it had “completed its homework”, the government’s reluctance to table the amendment on Sunday night belied its earlier claims of having the numbers to push the amendment through both houses.
- Everything seems to be riding on the support of Fazl sources said the late-night decision to put off the sessions of both houses of parliament was taken on his insistence as he holds the key to bringing the government close to its goal as far as the Senate is concerned.
- With his five seats in the Senate, the Maulana is in a position to tip the scales in the favour of the government. Currently, the ruling coalition’s parties have a total of 52 confirmed votes ??PPP’s 24, PML-N’s 19, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) four, Mutahhida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) three, and one each from the PML-Q and National Party.
- If the Awami National Party (ANP) backs the government with its three votes, and if the four independent senators side with the treasury, this would mean 64 votes, which is the required threshold, in an incomplete house of 85.
- However, things are not so clear in the NA: here coalition parties have 213 seats (excluding 20 disputed reserved seats), while the opposition has 99 in an incomplete house of 312.The JUI-F has eight seats in the lower house, and even if they were all to vote for the government, it would still fall three short of the required number.
