Govt, opposition MPs in war of words as amendments ‘deferred indefinitely’

ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition lawmakers on Monday engaged in a war of words in the National Assembly on the proposed constitutional amendment bill, as the government’s bid to table the constitutional package, according to PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, “deferred indefinitely”.

The NA session comes after the ruling coalition apparently failed to manage the required numbers — a two-thirds majority in parliament — despite strenuous efforts on Sunday which arguably centred around Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s support for the proposed amendments, Geo News reported.

Originally scheduled to commence at 11am on Saturday, the session finally got underway late night and was then deferred till Monday, and has now been adjourned indefinitely.The possibility of the prospective constitutional amendments comes amid speculations revolving around an extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa — who is set to retire in October this year — after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sought an early issuance of notification regarding the next top judge last month.

However, the government needs to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament to successfully pass any constitutional amendment. After previous day’s efforts failed to convince the JUI-F head to lend his support, senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Irfan Siddiqui, while speaking to Geo News earlier in the day, claimed the government’s bid to table the constitutional package has been “postponed indefinitely”. Speaking on the NA floor, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in the government’s opinion, the constitutional amendment draftaimed at removing the constitutional imbalance and there was no politics involved in it. The Constitution allowed the parliament to legislate, he said.

Addressing the session, PTI leader Asad Qaiser thanked the Speaker for issuing production orders for his party leaders. He also saluted Fazl for his “bravery and courage” over his stance on the constitutional amendments. Qaiser said the law minister himself said he did not have the draft, questioning where did the draft come from. “The government must bring amendments but first they should be discussed in the House. Whereas, you are sneakily legislating in the night during holidays,” he said.

He said if the government wanted to introduce a law, it should be shared with the bar association and debated in the house so that people could know about it.Responding to Qaiser, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the draft would be brought forward once the bill was presented in the house. “If the bill’s draft had not been sent to the cabinet, then how it could be brought to the House?” he asked.

“First the matter is raised in the cabinet, then cabinet’s special committee scours it. After passing through the cabinet and special committee, the bill goes to parliament,” he said.Referring to the proposed constitutional amendment, Tarar said it was a “working paper” at the moment and its draft would be brought forward after getting cabinet’s approval. He said it was a package for the masses, which contained good news for them, as fate of numerous court cases hanged in the balance for 18 years.