Ata Tarar claims infighting in PTI over amendments

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday claimed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had agreed to 90pc of the clauses in the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

On the other hand, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan alleged intelligence personnel posing as National Assembly security officials were present in parliament when the amendment bill was set to be discussed.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, the opposition leader requested Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to constitute an inquiry committee, headed by Sergeant at Arms, to investigate the issue. Omar Ayub said the intelligence personnel entered the Parliament House from Gate Number Five in double-cabin vehicles. He went on to claim that five PTI MNAs were forced at gunpoint to support the constitutional amendment bill and they were also kept in different chambers where they were not visible to the media.

He said a scuffle also took place between intelligence personnel and media workers. Omar also displayed a photo of a person, alleging he alleged was an intelligence sleuth in the Parliament House, in the uniform of NA security personnel. Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, however, did not agree with the allegations, and said he would secure the footage and photos.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said that the 26th Constitution Amendment Bill was not passed in haste, rather it took two and a half months to complete the broad consensus. He said that four MNAs to whom the opposition leader was referring were independents and had received no instructions from any parliamentary leader, rather they acted upon their conscience.

The minister said that it was the PTI leadership who told the media along with Maulana Fazlur Rehman that 90 percent of their grievances about the legislation had been addressed. Tarar said two clauses from the draft were excluded on the demand of PTI leaders. He claimed the PTI was witnessing divide and infighting. “They had differences of opinion even on the issue of attending the meeting of special parliamentary party for nomination of Chief Justice of Pakistan,” he said.

The information minister said the PTI leadership participated in the consultation process, bargained over some clauses, gave their input over some and also reached a consensus on the final draft of the constitutional amendment bill.

“Instead of blaming others, they should check infighting inside their party and put their own house in order,” he said. He also asked why the PTI leadership decided to stay away from the meeting of special parliamentary committee after sending nominations.

PTI parliamentarian Sher Afzal Marwat said when one of the three most senior judges would be considered for appointment as the new Chief Justice, none of them would annoy any sitting government. He said that in the past, some chief justices belonged to one party or another. “We do not want judges who should be kind to you or us rather we need those who are independent and responsible,” he said.

Marwat claimed that he and many other party members were offered billions of rupees to support the amendment. “Our members neither supported nor gave charity votes and they did not even support the government for free,” he said. Meanwhile, the National Assembly referred a bill to further amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 [The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024] (Article 140A) to the relevant committee. The bill was moved by MQM leader Muhammad Javed Hanif Khan. The bill’s mover, along with Syed Mustafa Kamal, highlighted its key features and said that the devolution of powers would enable the people to address their issues more effectively at the local level. Federal Minister for Information, Attaullah Tarar, said that the government had no objections to the bill and agreed to its referral to the committee. The National Assembly also referred two more bills including the Bank Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Seed (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to relevant committees. The National Assembly also passed five resolutions.