ISLAMABAD: The constitutional amendment to eliminate the curse of horse-trading in the upcoming Senate election is not possible without the consent of Pakistan People’s Party. The PPP’s numerical strength in both the houses of Parliament — the National Assembly and the Senate — gives it the final say on the constitutional amendment. After contacting the political parties, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has today (Friday) summoned the parliamentary leaders on the single-point agenda of the proposed constitutional amendment. According to parliamentary observers, there is a need of 228 members in the 342-member National Assembly and 68 senators in 104-member Senate for the constitutional amendment. Though the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has boycotted Parliament, its members are still MNAs. The PPP is in a decisive position in both the houses and no constitutional amendment could be possible without its consent. A senior official of the National Assembly told The News/Jang that if a political consensus was achieved in the parliamentary leaders’ meeting, then it was likely that the constitutional amendment would be passed by Saturday or Tuesday.
