President Zardari signs contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment after Senate approval

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday signed into law the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment, shortly after the Senate approved it amid strong opposition protests.

The development comes hours after the upper house passed the bill for the second time, with Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani announcing that 64 members had voted in favour and four against.

A session of the Senate was summoned at the Parliament House, where Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar tabled the bill with changes approved by the Lower House.

The bill sailed through the Upper House, presided over by Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, with a majority vote. Announcing the result, the Senate chairman stated that the bill secured 64 votes in favour and four against.

The atmosphere in the House grew tense during the voting. Senators of the PTI staged a sit-in in front of the chairman’s dais and raised slogans against the constitutional amendment. PTI members chanted slogans of “constitutional amendment rejected” and tore up copies of the bill from the opposition benches. Later, following the speaker’s intervention, the opposition staged a walkout from the House.

Aaj News quoted sources as saying that the dissident senators from the PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Saifullah Abro and Ahmad Khan, also voted in the amendment’s favour today, as their resignations have not yet been accepted, nor has any reference been filed against them under Article 63 of the Constitution.

The bill was first tabled and passed in the Senate on Monday before being sent to the National Assembly, which approved it with certain amendments on Wednesday. Subsequently, the revised legislation was presented in the Senate again today.

The constitutional amendment bill was passed by the National Assembly a day ago with a two-thirds majority. During the assembly session, the opposition tore up copies of the bill, protested in front of the speaker’s dais, and boycotted the proceedings. The number of government members stood at 234, significantly more than the required 224 for approval, although the JUI-F voted against the bill.

The amendment approved by the National Assembly included eight new clauses. The most significant change is in Clause 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution, which specified that no court shall validate any act of “high treason”. This clause also saw the addition of “Constitutional Court” alongside the high court and Supreme Court.

Following the amendment, it has been clarified that the current Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, will continue to be called the chief justice of Pakistan until the completion of his tenure. After his retirement, the senior-most justice from either the Supreme Court or the Federal Constitutional Court will be designated the chief justice of Pakistan.

This change has ended the debate that had been ongoing for the past few days regarding whether the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan was being abolished or transferred to the chief justice of the Constitutional Court.

Law Minister Tarar clarified in the House, stating, “The perception that the office of the chief justice of Pakistan has been abolished through the 27th Constitutional Amendment is entirely false.” According to him, Justice Afridi will continue to serve as the head of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

The bill was earlier passed by the Senate on November 10 with a two-thirds majority, as 64 senators voted in its favour during the crucial session, while the opposition staged a walkout.

The bill triggering fierce accusations from the opposition that the ruling coalition is consolidating power for the elite while shielding the corrupt and untouchable.

PTI vowed to reject the provisions at all costs and pledged to protest against them through all available platforms, including street demonstrations.

Tarar introduced the bill, and all 59 clauses were approved one by one in the upper house.

The bill proposes significant constitutional changes, including the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), judicial reforms, and lifetime immunity for the president and field marshal.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan condemned the amendment as a flawed and undemocratic move that could reduce the country’s fledgling democracy to little more than a façade.

“If this amendment passes, the constitution will be rendered meaningless,” Khan warned, adding that the PTI would not accept what he called a “betrayal of the public trust.”