Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2024 reviewed: Senate panel seeks opinions from provinces, other stakeholders

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Thursday sought the views of all provinces on a proposed constitutional amendment that would require holders of key constitutional and executive offices, including the president and prime minister, and others, to possess at least a graduate-level qualification.

The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice, chaired by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, reviewed the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2024, moved by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri. After detailed deliberations, the committee decided to seek opinions from the provinces and other stakeholders before taking a final decision on the bill.

Senator Mumtaz Zehri, while briefing the committee regarding the bill, said that the proposed legislation seeks to amend Article 62 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The amendment would make a bachelor’s degree in any discipline, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) or under any prevailing law, mandatory for holders of key offices. These include the president, prime minister, governors, chief ministers, chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, speaker and deputy speaker, federal ministers, ministers of state, and provincial ministers, she said.

Senator Naek observed that these offices are filled either through public elections or by selections made by elected representatives, as provided under the constitution. He said the constitution guarantees fundamental rights and cautioned that restrictions on eligibility should not infringe upon those rights.

The committee chairman also recalled that a similar educational requirement introduced in the past had been struck down by the Supreme Court (SC). While acknowledging the positive intent behind the proposed amendment, he said such conditions could affect the basic structure of the Constitution and suggested that, if considered necessary, they might be better addressed through rules of business rather than a constitutional amendment.

The committee, after discussion, decided to seek views from all provinces before reaching a final decision.

Minister of State for Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik,said that further progress should be made in accordance with the committee’s decision after receiving feedback from all provinces.

The meeting was attended by Senators Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Shahadat Awan, and Samina Mumtaz Zehri, as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025