After Senate approval, 26th constitutional bill sails through National Assembly

ISLAMABAD:The National Assembly on Sunday night passed the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, with 225 votes in its favour amid PTI parliamentarians who walked out in protest against the bill.

Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar with the permission of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq tabled the bill in the National Assembly.

The coalition government required 224 votes for the passage of the bill in the assembly. It bagged 225 votes for the approval of the amendment bill.

Earlier, Senate passed the bill with 65 members voting in favour of the amendment, while four members opposed it.

In National Assembly, 213 out of 215 members of the ruling coalition voted for the bill, whereas Adil Bazai of the allied government did not cast his vote. NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq also did not use his vote.

The government required 224 votes for the approval of the bill. JUI-F all eight members voted for the draft. Four members of PTI also voted the bill in the assembly.
President Asif Ali Zardari will sign the bill at Presidential House.

The National Assembly session has commenced to pass the long-awaited 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which the Senate approved with a two-thirds majority.

Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the 26th constitutional amendment in the Upper House and subsequently moved a motion for its approval, which was passed with a two-thirds majority in the House, with 65 members voting in favor of the amendment, while four members opposed it.

Members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) did not participate in the voting process and left the hall to go to the lobbies.

The bill proposes a series of constitutional amendments, including setting a three-year fixed term for the Chief Justice, establishing constitutional benches, restructuring the Supreme Judicial Council, and forming a Special Parliamentary Committee to recommend names from among the three most senior judges of the apex court for the Chief Justice’s appointment.

Speaking in the House, Law Minister Tarar said all poitical parties, including the opposition, were consulted over the constitutional amendment bill.

In his speech, Law Minister Tarar said that a committee was formed on the speaker’s direction to review the constitutional amendment bill, and it was thoroughly examined. The bill has been included in the supplementary agenda, so it should be taken up.

He then explained that the procedure for appointing judges was introduced in the 18th Constitutional Amendment to ensure transparency in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary, and a parliamentary committee was formed for this purpose.

He added that the parliamentary committee was given the authority to block any nomination. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court regarding this, and the 19th Amendment was hastily introduced, changing the composition of the commission, resulting in members leaning toward a particular institution.