Senate approves 27th Amendment

With two-thirds majority
Opposition members protest, tear up copies of bill, raise slogans against government
islamabad
The Senate passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill on Monday, which aims to overhaul the military and judicial structures, amid the opposition’s walkout and protest — tearing their copies.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the 59-clause Bill, which received the required 64 votes (two-thirds majority in the 96-member House). It will now be presented in the National Assembly for voting. No member voted against it — as the opposition opted to boycott.
Apart from the treasury members, the Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Saifullah Abro and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Ahmed Khan were among the senators who voted in favour of the amendment.
Interestingly, Abro did not partake in the protest as well and later, during his speech, also announced his resignation as a senator.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar congratulated the House on the passage of the historic bill in the Senate. He recalled that former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto had signed the Charter of Democracy, which was also endorsed by all political parties.
FM Dar noted that the establishment of a constitutional court had also been agreed upon in that charter.
Dar said Pakistan achieved a historic victory in the recent war with India. He highlighted that another major amendment pertained to Article 243. “The nation has declared Army Chief Asim Munir a hero following the war with India,” he said. Dar also clarified that the title of Field Marshal had not previously existed in the Constitution.
The foreign minister assured the House that the seniority of the incumbent chief justice, along with all other judges, would remain intact. He added that, as promised, the government had first presented the Bill in the Senate. Dar concluded that the constitutional amendments were aimed at improving the judicial system.
The deputy prime minister further recalled that during the 18th Amendment, two names — Hazara Pakhtunkhwa and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — were proposed, and after consultation with the ANP, the province was named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.