Pakistan approves controversial 26th constitutional amendment bill

The Pakistan Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, approved the proposed draft of the controversial 26th constitutional amendment on October 20, following consultations with coalition partners, according to the PM's office.

The coalition government will table the proposed judicial reforms bill in the Senate and the National Assembly on Sunday.

The details of the amendments are still a mystery as the government has not officially shared it with the media or discussed it publically. What has been reported so far shows that the bill's alleged objective is to dilute the power of an independent judiciary.

Reports indicate that the government plans to raise the retirement age for judges and fix the tenure of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

A constitutional amendment requires separate passage in the National Assembly and Senate, with a two-thirds majority vote.

"The federal cabinet has approved the proposed draft of the 26th constitutional amendment of the government and its coalition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party," Dawn News reported, quoting a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

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, as per Express News.

After the meeting, Federal Minister Musadik Malik said that the government approved its draft, which was prepared in collaboration with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the government, and coalition partners. The cabinet has officially endorsed the draft.

The coalition government is highly optimistic about getting the much-anticipated 26th Constitutional Amendment passed in parliament, Geo News reported.

A notification from the Senate secretariat said that the upper house session will commence at 3 pm. The National Assembly session will start at 6 pm, according to a separate notification from the NA secretariat.

Strict security arrangements have been made for the session of the National Assembly, with guest entry strictly prohibited, according to the assembly's spokesperson.

The bill was discussed on October 19 with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Earlier, the government lacked the required numbers in the Senate and the National Assembly. However, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that the government now has the support to reach the required numbers.

Maulana Rehman of JUI-F, in a late-night talk with the media along with Bilawal, said his party would support the 26th constitutional amendment after receiving a response from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and sought a day for further deliberation.

Meanwhile, the JUI-F reached a consensus on the constitutional package after the government agreed to remove all parts not acceptable to the party, Rehman said.

If passed, the government could block Justice Masoor Ali Shah from succeeding the current Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, upon his retirement. Isa is set to retire on October 25 after reaching superannuation, which is 65 years.

The original idea of extending the retirement age of judges from 65 to 68 is also not part of the amendment.

To succeed, it should be passed before the October 25 deadline to complete the formalities for setting up the special panel.

To pass the amendment, the governed needs 224 votes in the 336-member National Assembly and 64 in the Senate. The current coalition strength in the NA is 213 and 52 in the Senate.