ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic escalation of political tensions, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) staged a walkout on Saturday from a parliamentary panel meeting convened to discuss the government’s proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, denouncing it as a “conspiracy against the constitution.”
The closed-door joint session of Senate and National Assembly standing committees on law and justice, chaired by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Farooq H Naek, was convened to debate the controversial 27th Amendment.
However, opposition lawmakers refused to participate, leaving the session largely empty and highlighting concerns over what they described as a rushed and opaque push by the ruling coalition.
“This is not reform; it is subjugation,” PTI Senator Ali Zafar said, accusing the government of attempting to “mutilate the constitution for political convenience.”
He said the draft contained 50 amendments, many of which had not been shared with opposition parties. Comparing it to the 18th Amendment, which followed more than a year of national consultation, Zafar accused the PPP of colluding to weaken the 1973 Constitution’s balance of powers.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja warned that the proposed federal court, to which the Supreme Court would be subordinated, could compromise judicial independence.
Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser echoed the opposition’s concerns, saying the current parliament lacked a popular mandate to enact sweeping constitutional changes. “Fresh elections should precede any amendments. Otherwise, this parliament is legislating in violation of public trust,” he told Business Recorder.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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