PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui announced on Thursday that major parties had reached a consensus on “90 per cent” of the points in the much-touted constitutional package, adding that it would be presented in the Senate tomorrow.
The much-talked-about Constitutional Package is legislation proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including the extension of the top judge’s term.
Three separate drafts of the constitutional package were being prepared — one by the government, the second by the PPP, and the third by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). A committee, led by PPP’s Khursheed Shah, has the representation of all parties, including the PTI. It was formed by the National Assembly speaker for reconciliation among lawmakers, particularly between the PTI and the government, after a raid by plainclothesmen to round up the PTI men from the Parliament House.
In a meeting at the residence of the Sharif family in Lahore, the ruling parties on Wednesday virtually succeeded in winning over Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F for their reform package.
However, the parties still require cooperation from the PTI to achieve complete consensus on the constitutional amendments, which have become a bone of contention in national politics of late.
The meeting, attended by the heads of all three parties — the PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F — discussed the amendments threadbare and hoped to address the sticking points, besides giving the final touches to the tweaks.
After midnight, they held a press conference to brief the media about the outcome of the meeting. Fazl said agreement on some points had been achieved and the trio was “near consensus” on some issues. He appeared hopeful, saying they were heading towards consensus.
Senator Siddiqui told reporters today that most of the amendments had been agreed upon after attending a meeting of the parliamentary committee deliberating on the package.
“God willing, we have full consensus very soon,” Siddiqui said. “We have reached a consensus on 80-90pc of the larger matters and we are aiming to reach an agreement on smaller issues today.
“The amendments will be presented in the Senate tomorrow,” he added.
PTI alleges offers being made to sway lawmakers
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub accused the government of bribery and kidnapping PTI lawmakers in order to pass the 26th amendment.
“Zain Qureshi’s wife was taken to an undisclosed location at gunpoint,” Ayub alleged while talking to reporters. “She has been recovered and I spoke with [National Assembly] Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. They have raided the homes of our journalists as well.”
The opposition leader continued: “This is their current state. People are being offered bribes of between Rs700 million and Rs1 billion in cash, anytime and anywhere. These are the offers to our MNAs, along with ministries, and similarly is happening with our Senators. This just proves that they do not have the numbers.”
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said the party was still working on its draft bill, adding that a final draft would be presented once it was accepted by party founder Imran Khan.
“When we meet with him, we will take his recommendations and input into consideration. Then we will present a final draft.”
In an earlier media talk today, Gohar said, “We’ve said that we will consult on the draft with Maulana sahib. We have said this categorically. We need to discuss it with Imran, only then will we present a draft.”
He added that legislation was “not a numbers game, but a game of conscience”. The chairman described the alleged harassment of PTI lawmakers and their families as “unconscionable”.
Gohar also claimed that seven of the government’s potential voters were “not on their side”.
“When they vote, the government will be shocked,” he added.
Later in the day, a PTI delegation visited Fazl to discuss the package and the overall political situation.
An earlier attempt by the ruling PML-N to bulldoze the amendments did not succeed as it failed to win over the JUI-F and the legislation could not be tabled despite houses being in session.
After that, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took the driving seat to evolve a consensus over ‘much-needed judicial reforms’, primarily setting up a constitutional court. According to the PPP leader, this court was an unfinished agenda of the Charter of Democracy signed by his late mother Benazir Bhutto.
The Sindh government on Wednesday recommended that the Sindh High Court (SHC) launch a judicial inquiry into the killing of Dr Shahnawaz Kumbhar, a blasphemy suspect shot dead and whose body was desecrated, triggering widespread outcry by rights groups.
Dr Shahnawaz, accused of sharing blasphemous posts on social media, was shot dead during a gun battle with the police in Mirpurkhas on September 19, authorities said.
After the ‘encounter’, the body was handed over to the family, who brought it to Janhero — the native village of the suspect — for burial. However, they had to escape after a mob descended on them to snatch the body.
The family fled to Nabisar Thar, where they were pursued by zealots who did not let them bury the slain suspect. However, upon returning to Janhero with the body hidden in a car, a mob managed to snatch the corpse and set it on fire.
On September 26, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar presented the findings of an inquiry into the killing of the doctor, saying the probe found that police “staged the encounter”.
In its letter to the SHC today, the Sindh Home Department said: “It has now become imperative that [a] judicial inquiry may be conducted into the subject matter incident in order to ascertain the real facts and fix responsibility on the delinquent police officers/officials and individuals in the interest of justice.”
The letter said that a committee constituted by the Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) found that the “police encounter” in which Dr Shahnawaz was killed was staged.
The home department urged the SHC to launch the judicial inquiry under a serving high court judge.
The PPP and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) reached an agreement on a shared draft of the much-touted constitutional amendments.
The much-talked-about Constitutional Package is legislation proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including the extension of the top judge’s term.
Three separate drafts of the constitutional package were being prepared — one by the government, the second by the PPP, and the third by the JUI-F. A committee, led by PPP’s Khursheed Shah, has the representation of all parties, including the PTI. It was formed by the National Assembly speaker for reconciliation among lawmakers, particularly between the PTI and the government, after a raid by plainclothesmen to round up the PTI men from the Parliament House.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had told media persons in Hyderabad a day ago that there was harmony in the drafts of the PML-N, the PPP and the JUI-F. He said proposals rejected by the JUI-F had been removed from the draft by the government. He said the amendments would be rejected if a consensus could not be reached. He had indicated that amendments that infringed upon fundamental rights or aimed to strengthen some specific institution would not be acceptable.
Fazl visited PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Karachi today. In a press conference after their meeting, he said: “I can say this much after a long discussion that our two parties have agreed on a draft.”
Fazl said he still needed to meet PML-N President Nawaz Sharif tomorrow and desired his agreement, adding that he also had to meet the PTI leadership.
“It will be our effort to create such a consensus in this bill that it is unanimously considered a constitutional amendment.”
He said “serious” talks were held with the PPP and lauded Bilawal for playing a “big role” in achieving the consensus.
Bilawal said there was a further need to build upon the consensus achieved today between the two parties, adding that the PPP was also invited to the Nawaz-Fazl meeting.
He hoped that the PPP-JUI-F consensus would convert into one with the PML-N as well. Bilawal said Fazl was desirous that this consensus included not only the government’s allied parties but also the PTI and other opposition parties.
“If this [consensus] is possible and happens, then it will lend great strength to our constitutional process and it will bring improvement.
“The goal of every one of us is not person-specific or a limitation by the time. Our emphasis … is only on finding solutions to the nation’s problems.”
Bilawal said he hoped that the final bill passed by the National Assembly would be based on the consensus achieved today.
He added that the prevalent environment in the country made it seem unlikely that political parties would talk with one another and agree, further saying that he hoped all issues in the country would be solved by political parties by achieving consensus with one another for the sake of the nation.
To a question, Bilawal said the PML-N was “active in its own way” regarding the constitutional amendment, adding that “we have our own ways and they have another way”.
