After Senate, National Assembly also passes 26th Constitutional Amendment

The National Assembly (NA) passed the 26th Amendment Bill, a judiciary-related constitutional package, in the wee hours on Monday.

The development comes after the Senate approved the bill on Sunday after weeks of political negotiations.

Earlier on Sunday, the federal cabinet had greenlit the constitutional package in collaboration with government-allied parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Like in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the NA during a session that started late Sunday night and continued until the early hours of Monday morning.

Tarar outlined the key features of the bill, which had already been approved by the Senate.

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The newly enacted law was sent to President Asif Ali Zardari for assent under Article 75 of Pakistan’s Constitution.

Some key points of 26th Amendment Bill, 2024:

• The term for the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) has been set at three years.

• A 12-member parliamentary committee will select the new CJP from a panel of the three most senior judges.

• The parliamentary committee, consisting of eight members from the NA and four from the Senate, will propose the name to the prime minister, who will then forward it to the president for final approval.

• A Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), led by the CJP and including three senior judges, two members each from the NA and Senate, the federal minister for law and justice, the attorney general, and a legal expert with at least 15 years of Supreme Court experience, will oversee judicial appointments.

The government required 224 votes to pass the bill.

A total of 225 members of the NA voted in favour of the bill, while 12 members from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed the package.

Out of the 225 votes in the favour, the government’s were 211, followed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) 8, and 6 from independent and PTI-backed members.

PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had announced on Sunday that his party would abstain from the voting process for the constitutional amendment in the parliament. He had announced that while addressing a press conference alongside Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad.

During the NA session, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari delivered a speech that lasted more than 50 minutes. He expressed gratitude to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for playing a crucial role in securing the passage of the bill.

“Maulana Fazlur Rehman did the most to ensure the success of this bill. His role in this process has been historic, and I can proudly say he played the most significant part in it,” he said. “I can confidently say that there are points in this amendment that have been passed with 100% political consensus.”

Bilawal also thanked other parties for their contributions to the bill.

He extended his gratitude to the PTI, saying, “I also thank the PTI for playing a part in this historic achievement. This is a political success, and I wish you wouldn’t have portrayed your own victory as a loss.”

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PTI’s Leader of the Opposition in the NA, Omar Ayub Khan, took over the floor and criticised the amendments, arguing that they did not reflect the will of the Pakistani people.

Taking a jab at Law Minister Tarar and Bilawal, he said that those who had “gone missing” should have been thanked as well during the note of thanks.

“These were all tactics to pressure us. The mistreatment of Imran Khan in jail is also an example,” he said.

The PTI had alleged that seven of its lawmakers had been “abducted” and that the government was trying to enact the amendment at “gunpoint”.

Ayub also questioned the urgency behind passing the amendments, asking, “What would have happened had it been passed on October 31?”

He claimed the amendments were an attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

“We do not think this government is capable of bringing constitutional amendments. Therefore, we have instructed PTI members not to become part of this process,” he said.

‘CJP to be picked from three senior-most judges’

The bill sailed through both houses of the parliament at a time when the current Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa is about the retire later this month.

Speaking to a press conference on Sunday, Law Minister Tarar said the government was going to review the seniority principle in the Supreme Court under the 26th Constitutional Amendment and that the CJP would be picked from the three senior-most judges.

“We believe there will be transparency in the appointment process. The CJP tenure has been fixed for 3 years,” he shared.

Tarar said 65 was the cut-off age and if any judge became CJP before retirement age, his/her remaining time would be considered as retirement.

He said the CJP-led judicial commission would have the right to the formation of benches.

Amendment to safeguard country’s future: PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the amendment passed by the parliament would prove to be “a milestone in the country’s history besides safeguarding its future”, state-run APP reported.

“This is a historic day. The 26th constitutional amendment is not just an amendment but another magnificent example of national solidarity and unity. Today a new dawn will usher in and a new sun will rise which will brighten the whole country,” the prime minister said addressing the NA session after the house passed the legislation.

PM Shehbaz said the new constitutional amendment would also help end the “palatial conspiracies” to oust the governments and remove prime ministers besides ensuring the riddance from the verdicts like Reko Diq and Karkey which cost the country billions of dollars.

Besides, the amendment would also address the sufferings of the millions of people who had to wait for years to seek justice from the Supreme Court, he added.

The prime minister said with the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, the “unfulfilled dream of the Charter of Democracy” had been realised which was signed by Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif in 2006 and also endorsed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Responding to criticism by an opposition member, the prime minister said the legislation was made by the votes of allied parties and the independent candidates, not by any turncoats.

He was of the view that the country had witnessed great judges like Justice Kiania and Justice Robert Cornelius but there were also some others who sacked two prime ministers with one on the basis of Iqama, when nothing was found in the Panama case.

PM Shehbaz wished the PTI would have joined the legislation process but he said that despite their absence, the parliament gave a message that the political parties and their leaders set aside their personal interests and went ahead to pass the amendment “which will become a milestone in the country’s history”.

Later, the prime minister signed the advice to be sent to the President of Pakistan for his endorsement of the 26th Constitutional Amendment after its passage by both houses of the parliament.