‘Fazl tried to make constitutional amendment controversial’: Bilawal gives 26th Amendment passage credit to outgoing CJP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the 26th amendment has become part of the constitution due to the role of the outgoing Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

The 26th amendment brought about some significant changes in the appointment of the CJP of the top court. He made these remarks while giving interview to a foreign media outlet.

When asked about the timing he said, “In the judicial history of Pakistan, there’s one man [...] that has shown us that he’s willing to obey parliament even at the cost of his personal power.”

President Asif Ali Zardari gives assent to 26th Constitutional Amendment

Responding to a question about the unending political targeting of opponents, he said Imran Khan would have to take the first step to end this culture.

The government and its allies were successful in their bid to pass the 26th amendment due to the role of incumbent CJP Isa. Such monumental work could not have been possible under any other chief justice.

He – the incumbent CJP – was the only person in Pakistan judicial history who was ready to believe and act according to the principle of parliamentary superiority.

Answering about a question pertaining to Article 63-A, he said that verdict was ultra vires of the constitution.

He said after the passing of the constitutional package, a special committee of the parliament with a majority nominated Justice Yahya Afridi as the next CJP. He said he did not know that the committee would nominate (the most senior) Justice Shah.

But, he added, when the PPP came into power, it did not start the vicious circle of targeting political opponents.

The PPP Chairman said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder needs to step up to end the political vendetta. “The PTI founder is not in the mood of talking to his political opponents,” he said.

When asked that PTI founder Imran Khan had been in prison for more than one year due to political victimization, his said his father – President Asif Ali Zardari – remained in prison for 11 years.

Bilawal has said that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman tried to make the 26th Constitutional Amendment ‘controversial’ by passing remarks against one of their clauses.

Bilawal said that the coalition government could have got the amendments passed even without the support of the JUI-F. “But we followed the Charter of Democracy (CoD) and tried to develop a consensus among political parties.”

Bilawal claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wanted to amend Article 8 of the Constitution to allow military courts to try those who target military installations and ordinary citizens.

He further said there was not much difference between a constitutional court and a constitutional bench. “By a constitutional court, we don’t mean a separate structure,” he opined.

The former foreign minister said: “I had no idea that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah would not become the chief justice of Pakistan.”

Bhutto-Zardari said: “I have not gone for the constitutional amendment due to the establishment but for the sake of the charter of democracy and my mother, Benazir Bhutto.” “Efforts were made to make all the process controversial in the name of black snake,” he added.