The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dramatically withdrew from the joint parliamentary committee’s proceedings on the 27th Constitutional Amendment on Saturday, sounding the alarm over what it called a secretive government move to ‘dismantle’ the Supreme Court and fundamentally reshape the nation’s judicial framework.
The boycott was announced shortly after Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate. The bill has now been forwarded to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for further consideration.
Addressing reporters outside Parliament House, PTI Senator Ali Zafar described the entire exercise as ‘pre-decided’ and secretive. He revealed that government members provided opposition lawmakers with a draft containing almost 50 amendments without any prior consultation.
‘These amendments are being made secretly. We were asked to present our stance in the committee, but we have not even read a single word of it – how can we appear before the committee?’ he questioned.
The proposed legislation includes far-reaching changes, such as eliminating the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and creating a new position of Chief of Defence Forces.
The draft also details a significant overhaul of the judicial system, including the formation of a new Constitutional Court. This new body would assume certain constitutional powers currently held by the Supreme Court, while the president and prime minister would gain expanded roles in judicial appointments. Parliament would also be empowered to determine the number of judges on the new court.
Senator Zafar warned that these proposals are designed to cripple the country’s highest court by abolishing Article 184, the clause that grants the apex court suo motu powers to safeguard fundamental rights.
‘Through these amendments, the Supreme Court is being reduced to a mere appellate court. The very spirit of the 1973 Constitution is being changed,’ he asserted.
He further criticized proposed presidential exemptions, alleging they are an attempt by the government to shield the president from accountability ‘for life’. Zafar contrasted the rushed nature of the current proceedings with the year-long consultative process that led to the 18th Amendment, labeling the current effort a ‘staged drama’.
Echoing the PTI’s concerns, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas also rejected the proposed changes, calling them ‘an attack on the integrity of Pakistan’s Constitution’. He noted that unlike the broad consensus built for the 18th Amendment, lawmakers were allegedly ‘coerced and threatened’ during the approval of the 26th Amendment.
PTI leaders reaffirmed that the party would not support what they firmly described as a ‘conspiracy against the Constitution’.