Allies congregate to mull ‘constitutional package’

• President, PM convene separate meetings
• Strategy discussed to muster two-thirds majority for constitutional amendment
• Fazl ‘skips’ meeting despite president’s invite
• PM Shehbaz asks lawmakers to ensure attendance as bill’s passage likely this week

ISLAMABAD: The ruling partners joined heads at the Presidency and the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday to deliberate on an important piece of proposed legislation aiming to set the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term to a fixed three-year period as well as to counter the ‘threat’ posed by the opposition.

One meeting summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari was held at the President’s House whereas Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting at the PM’s Office to take into confidence the allies as well as woo a former partner, JUI-F, to ensure a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament for a constitutional amendment.

The desired legislation for the three-year tenure of the CJP needs 224 votes in the National Assembly for its passage and the ruling coalition is short of 12 votes. If the JUI-F led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman agrees to support this proposed law, the government will still need four to five more votes in the National Assembly. However, it will have the two-thirds majority in the Senate with the JUI-F support. Amid this numbers game, the PTI has alleged that some of its members are being pressured to vote for the upcoming bill.

A source in the National Assembly Secretariat told Dawn that the bill seeking the constitutional amendment would be tabled in the National Assembly within this week and will aim to increase the tenure of the top judge.

Another important bill seeking an increase in the number of judges of the Supreme Court from 17 to 21 had already been presented in the Senate last week by Senator Abdul Qadir, an independent from Balochistan. The bill has been sent to the relevant committee of the upper house of parliament for review and discussion.

In the Senate, 64 votes are required to obtain a two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment, whereas the ruling coalition has 55 members in the Senate — PML-N 19, PPP 24, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) 4, MQM 3, and 5 independents.

Huddles at Presidency and PMO

Interestingly, the huddles in the Presidency and the PMO took place simultaneously at a time when the capital police and local administration of Islamabad arrested several top PTI leaders in a late-night crackdown. In both meetings, parliamentarians of the ruling alliance were asked to ensure their presence in the NA and the Senate in the coming days for the important legislation.

A source said President Zardari had also invited the JUI-F to the meeting, but no one from the party participated. President Zardari underscored the need to strengthen parliamentary democracy and promote political stability to put the country on the path of development, said a statement from the presidency.

The leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) attended the meeting At the PM Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked lawmakers to ensure their presence in the two houses of parliament for the upcoming legislation.

Besides legislators of the ruling PML-N, the meeting was also attended by the leaders of the PPP, MQM, and other allied parties. According to the PMO, PM Shehbaz highlighted the slowdown in inflation to 9.6 per cent in August, citing it as a testament to the government’s effective economic measures.

“The economic experts are forecasting further decline in the inflation rate during the current month which is good news for the nation,” he said, adding that in 2018, “we also left the government with a single-digit inflation rate”.

The PM attributed the economic progress to the government’s efforts, which started in April 2022, to save the country from default.

He emphasised that the economic team’s efforts had not only stabilised the economy but also put it on a growth trajectory.

About power tariffs, the prime minister said the government was taking measures to provide maximum relief to the low-income segment of society.

The prime minister stressed the need for political stability and continuity in policies in the country. He also condemned the irresponsible language used by the leaders of a political party at a rally on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024