ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House in the Senate, Ishaq Dar, has confirmed that the government is bringing the 27th Constitutional Amendment in the Parliament and that he would request the government to move the proposed law in the Senate first, instead of the National Assembly.
“The 27th Constitutional Amendment is coming. Normally, (such) legislative drafts are shared in the NA first, but if you are in a hurry and you want to see this amendment’s draft, I would request the government to move the 27th Constitutional Amendment here first,” Dar said, addressing the opposition side, on the maiden day of the 355th Senate session on Tuesday.
He asked Law Minister Azam Tarar to take up the matter with the government to ensure that the amendment is moved in the Upper House ahead of tabling it in the Lower House.
Proposed 27th Amendment: PML-N engages in talks with allies
“No one else but the government is bringing this amendment. It would be treated as per the constitution and the law,” Dar said, without elaborating on the specifics of the proposed law.
The amendment, he said, would be referred to the relevant Senate committee for a thorough review, and, he added, it would be debated in the Parliament in detail.
But, Dar confirmed that a tweet from the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) regarding the 27th Constitutional Amendment includes “all the areas” that have been discussed.
“He is a politician and the chairman of a political party. He has every right to tweet. The areas that he has included in his tweet have been discussed,” Dar said, adding that he read Zardari’s tweet after landing in Pakistan on Tuesday morning, after completing an official tour regarding peace measures in Gaza.
“PML-N delegation headed by the PM called on President Asif Ali Zardari and sought the PPP’s support in passing the 27th Amendment. Proposal includes: Setting up a Constitutional court, executive magistrates, transfer of judges, removal of protection of provincial share in the NFC, amending article 243, return of education and population planning to the federation, and breaking the deadlock on appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner. The PPP’s Central Executive Committee will meet on 6 November upon the President’s return from Doha to decide party policy,” Zardari tweeted earlier on Monday, a message that stirred a debate across the country’s political spectrum.
“This amendment has become a national issue after this tweet,” said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Parliamentary Leader in the Senate, Ali Zafar, who spoke on the floor of the House before Dar.
Zafar opposed the proposed constitutional amendment, asking Dar to brief the house on the matter.
He also urged the PPP side to support the opposition against this amendment in the Parliament.
“The government’s important ministers, in different talk shows on television, denied on numerous occasions that this constitutional amendment was coming. I think either these ministers were lying, or they were ignorant— because this amendment is coming from elsewhere,” he said.
Zafar said the conduct of the Senate session in the absence of the opposition leader is illegal and in violation of the business rules of the house.
“Even your presence as the chair of the house is unlawful,” Zafar addressed Manzoor Kakar, who was presiding over the Senate session, in the absence of the chairman and deputy chairman Senate.
Dar, in his speech, supported Zafar’s stance regarding the opposition leader’s appointment, but said the government has nothing to do with this issue, as the chairman of the Senate makes decisions in this regard.
Meanwhile, the opposition Senate staged a strong protest against the non-appointment of the opposition leader, demanding that Allama Raja Nasir Abbas be notified as the opposition leader forthwith.
“Your demand is valid, but I can’t do anything in this regard. It’s the chairman Senate’s authority to notify the opposition leader, not mine,” Kakar told the protesting senators.
Amidst continued protests, the Senate passed four government bills Qanun-e-Shahadat (Amendment) Bill, 2025, King Hamad University of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences Bill, 2025, Daanish Schools Authority Bill, 2025, and the Asaan Karobar Bill, 2025.
The Virtual Assets Ordinance, 2025, and the Frontier Constabulary (Reorganisation) Ordinance, 2025, were also tabled in the House.
The Senate session has been adjourned till Friday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025