The 26th Constitutional Amendment, which became law earlier today after the approval of both houses of the Parliament, was given assent by President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday.
Pakistani politics saw a second “working weekend” in as many months, where the ruling coalition finally succeeded in passing the much-touted ‘Constitutional Package’ with a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the National Assembly.
The 26th Amendment brings changes to the Constitution, most of which pertain to the judiciary. Some main reforms include taking away the Supreme Court’s suo motu powers, setting the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years, and empowering the prime minister to appoint the next CJP from among the three most senior SC judges.
On Sunday, the bill, which had 22 clauses, was greenlit by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. Then, during a session that began late on Sunday night and continued past 5am on Monday, the National Assembly also passed it with a two-thirds majority. The NA-approved version had 27 clauses after incorporating suggestions made by the Senate.
Following the conclusion of parliamentary procedures, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Radio Pakistan, sent his advice to President Zardari for his assent on the newly enacted law — titled ‘The Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 2024’.
Following the passage of the bill, PM Shehbaz delivered a speech in the NA and congratulated the parliament for the “historical achievement”.
Senate, NA votes
The bill, tabled by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar was approved by the Senate with 65 votes — one more than required for a two-thirds majority.
These included 23 votes from the PPP, 19 from the PML-N, and five from the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), as well as two from Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) senators Muhammad Qasim and Naseema Ehsan, who voted against party lines.
Four and three senators of coalition partners Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), respectively, also voted for the bill. They were joined by three senators from the Awami National Party (ANP), one National Party and PML-Q senator each, and four independent senators — namely ex-caretaker PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Faisal Vawda, and Abdul Qadir.
In the National Assembly, where the government required 224 votes to pass the bill, the amendment was voted for by 225 members. Twelve members from the PTI and the Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed it, and walked out of the NA during the voting.
While the ruling coalition parties contributed 211 votes, eight votes came from the JUI-F and six from independent and PTI-backed candidates.
The PTI-backed independent members included Usman Ali, Aurangzeb Khichi, Mubarak Zeb, and Zahoor Qureshi, who voted in favour of the bill along with PML-Q’s Chaudhry Ilyas.
