‘No authority’: PTI senators denounce govt move to tweak Constitution

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators on Sunday rejected the government’s proposed 27th Amendment, saying the proposed amendment was tantamount to burying the Constitution.

Senate Chairperson Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani presided over today’s proceedings, which were held to tackle the proposed constitutional amendment.

Speaking on the floor of the House, PTI Senator Ali Zafar reaffirmed his party’s strong opposition to the proposed amendment, warning that altering the Constitution was like “tampering with the foundation of a building”.

He likened the nation to a building, saying the government’s actions were “undermining its foundation.”

The PTI leader expressed disappointment at the speed at which the government is pushing through the proposed amendment, saying constitutional amendments took a long time when the country was “under dictatorship”.

Senator Zafar rejected the proposed amendment, which he said was introduced by Parliament without “genuine public support”.

“This so-called parliament has no power to amend the constitution,” he said.

The PTI leader criticized the proposed judicial reforms, warning that they would reduce Supreme Court judges to the level of Supreme District and Sessions Court judges.

Senator Zafar warned that the proposed judicial appointment process could threaten the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

Introduced in the Senate a day earlier, the proposed 27th constitutional amendment would also introduce major changes to the judicial system as well as the military command structure.

A new position, Chief of Defense Forces, will be created along with the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).

Other proposals include revising judicial appointments and transfers and curtailing some powers of the Supreme Court.

Speaking on the floor of the Upper House of Parliament, PTI Senator Hamid Khan described the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment as an “attempt to bury the Constitution”.

Khan emphasized the importance of consensus before any change is brought forward.

Calling the 26th Amendment “the death of the Constitution”, he said the 27th Amendment represented an attempt to “bury it completely”.

“The 26th and 27th Amendments are a national shame,” he said, warning that if the judicial system collapses, “citizens will have nowhere to assert their rights.”

Senator Khan asserted that those who vote in favor of the amendment “will not be able to justify their actions in history,” adding that the move “destroyed the judiciary and distorted the Constitution”.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Pervez Rashid rejected PTI leaders’ criticism of the amendment, saying they “only showed the point of view that suits them”.

“The judicial independence enjoyed today was not achieved through the efforts of the judiciary, but through the struggle of the country’s political workers,” he said.

He further said that the judiciary has misused its independence.

Referring to the speeches of PTI legislators, Senator Rashid said that the opposition had agreed to all other amendment proposals except judicial reforms.

The PML-N leader wished that the PTI members had participated in the committee’s deliberations to voice their opinions.

Meanwhile, the federal government is preparing to table the bill for the passage of the 27th constitutional amendment in the Senate tomorrow (November 10).

This decision has come when the Senate and the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Law and Justice approved the full draft of the proposed amendment.