Constitutional amendment: NA, Senate sessions adjourned till Monday

The much-hyped National Assembly (NA) session was adjourned shortly after it was convened before midnight on Sunday to meet again the next day at 12:30pm.

Amid some unusual buzz on a Sunday in the capital city, both the NA and Senate sessions were delayed multiple times as political meetings continued before a likely ‘amendment package’ from the government.

Following the announcement from the lower house, the Senate session was also adjourned till Monday, 12:30pm.

The constitutional amendment package about increasing the retirement age of superior courts’ judges — a move vehemently opposed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), could not be introduced in Saturday’s sitting of the NA and was to be tabled today (Sunday).

Today’s NA session was initially scheduled for 11:30am but then changed to 4pm on a Special Parliamentary Committee’s request made to the NA speaker. However, the session could not start even at the revised time as meetings between the government and political parties continued.

Following delays in the NA, the Senate session on Sunday also faced delays and was slated at 10pm.

The government needs a two-thirds majority both in the National Assembly and the Senate for the passage of the “package”.

In the NA, the ruling coalition needs 224 votes to pass the constitutional amendment, whereas, in the Senate, the number stands at 64.

In the National Assembly, the treasury benches have 211 members against the opposition’s 101 lawmakers meaning that the government needs 13 more votes to pass the constitutional amendment package.

The government and PTI delegations reached the residency of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who became a sought-after personality today for both sides before the NA session.

‘Draft was not shared with JUI-F’

Speaking to media after meeting the delegations of the government as well as the PTI, JUI-F General Secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said the government had not shared the draft of the amendments.

His statement contradicted an earlier claim by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar who said that the draft of the proposed amendments had been shared with Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

“We still have not received the draft bill. When we can’t read it, how can we vote for it?” Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri asked, suggesting the government to delay the process so that “members of other parties can read the draft bill”.

PM takes ruling MPs into confidence

On Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hosted a dinner in honour of lawmakers belonging to the ruling alliance, and also took them into confidence on the constitutional amendment package.

The senators and members of the coalition parties assured their full support in the parliament for the passage of the proposed amendment aimed at increasing the retirement age limit of the superior courts’ judges.

During the meeting, the sources said, the prime minister had directed members of the Senate and the National Assembly to ensure their presence in Islamabad today (Sunday).