Tarar rejects reports about 27th amendment

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday rejected any possibility of the government introducing the 27th amendment only days after it passed the constitutional package with two-thirds majority in parliament, advising against speculating on the matter.

“No deliberation was held on 27th constitutional amendment in any government or legal committee meetings,” the minister said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.

The statement came a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met in Lahore, with the sources claiming that the top ruling party leaders discussed the proposed “27th constitutional amendment centred on provincial rights”.

The sources privy to the matters had informed Geo News that the ruling parties agreed on introducing the 27th constitutional amendment aimed at addressing the concerns raised by the provinces.

The meeting also decided to take the opposition party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the government’s ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and other parties in confidence on the next major legislation, the sources added.

Rejecting the news reports regarding such an amendment, he said: “Neither a draft [of constitutional amendment] was tabled or discussed at government, law minister or attorney general level, and nor its statement of objects and purpose was chalked out.”

He also termed the 26th Constitutional Amendment a “major step” in the context of legal reforms and the promises envisaged in the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed by slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif in 2006. “It’s a milestone for the common man seeking justice, reducing pendency of cases and formation of constitutional benches.”

In response to a question, Tarar said the special parliamentary committee — chaired by PPP leader Khurshid Shah — was tasked with working on legal reforms. “It’s an evolving situation and if the parliament believes there’s a need for further legal reforms — which have many more aspects — the committee should continue its work, which is also welcoming for the country’s democracy and supremacy of parliament,” he added.

Responding to another question, he said the government isn’t worried about Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar’s inclusion in the SC Practice and Procedure Committee, established for the purpose of fixing cases and forming benches.

However, he said, the government had reservations about the Supreme Court’s July 12 verdict in reserved seats verdict that declared the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) eligible for reserved seats for minorities and women in parliament.

“We had talked about the judgment frequently [...] Even National Assembly speaker’s stance is there,” he said, adding that they believe the Constitution and law were ignored and the top court should announce the verdict in line with the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024.

In response to a question about the PTI’s stance, the minister said that the former ruling party was part of the entire process and its reservations regarding the 26th Amendment were removed. “[PTI] Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had said that they agreed to 90% of the draft.”

He noted that the PTI announced holding protests just for “political point-scoring” as they were part of the system, including a special parliamentary committee. He claimed that the Imran Khan-founded party was divided in four to five factions, with two of them belonging to Bushra Bibi and PTI founder’s sister Aleema Khan. “One group is in favour of negotiations while the other calls for protest,” he said, adding that the grouping and division will remain in place.

Separately, Barrister Aqeel Malik, the government spokesperson on legal affairs, rejected the opposition’s claims that another constitutional amendment related to military courts is being planned.“A very wrong impression is being given that military courts will be established (in the next constitutional amendment) or via any sunset clause. This is absolutely not the case,” he said on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’.

He said the MQM-Pakistan, an allied party in the Centre, had linked its support for the 26th Constitutional Amendment to the tweaks in Article 140A that deals with strengthening the local body system.

The spokesperson said the MQM-P had demanded that since the 26th Amendment was mainly focused on judicial reforms, the next legislation should contain amendments to the local body system.