[🇵🇰] Constitutional Package

[Ghazi52]

Brightest lawyers see proposed constitutional court as an existential challenge​

Constitutional courts​

Editorial
October 2, 2024

THE decision-makers in Rawalpindi and Islamabad should have taken the hint. Instead, their determination to have the controversial ‘constitutional package’ bulldozed through parliament with another attempt is now uniting the legal community in anger and indignation.

Over the weekend, some 300 lawyers from across the country — including some of the most notable names in the profession — signed on to an open letter addressed to the judges of the superior judiciary, urging them to refuse to take any part in a ‘constitutional court’ that is set up under this government’s secretive legislative agenda.

Saying that they recognise the Supreme Court and the high courts as the only ‘constitutional courts’ of the country, the lawyers warned the judiciary against repeating past mistakes, regretting, in particular, that “Our higher judiciary has, for many decades now, lent legitimacy to a sustained assault on our Constitution and on our democracy”.

Underlining their opposition to the proposal to set up a new ‘constitutional court’, these representatives of the legal community have made it clear that, in their eyes, such a court would be considered a PCO court, “and those who take the oath to serve on it will be PCO judges”.

This is unusually strong phrasing by the lawyers’ community. While they doubtless would have debated the merits and demerits of a constitutional court more congenially in a different context, right now, the brightest minds in the profession are seeing it as an existential challenge: a move that represents a continuation of the series of assaults launched by military dictators on Pakistan’s constitutional order in the past.

There is no question that the timing of the move has tainted its intent — perhaps irrevocably. After all, the government has made it clear that it has little regard for the judiciary and its prerogatives. Perhaps the proposal would have been seen more charitably had the government demonstrated that it is as subservient to the law like everyone else. Instead, it chose to disregard, even sabotage, express orders of the Supreme Court on multiple occasions, with the latest being in the reserved seats case.

Given that it has established that it will not obey legal authority except when it is bent in its favour, how can it expect any court established by it to be seen as fair and impartial? It is even more troubling that the government wants to handpick the judge who will sit atop this proposed constitutional court. This will not only compromise the new court further but also potentially sully the reputation of whichever judge agrees to lead it.

The lawyers have agreed that they will not engage with this idea because they do not see it as rooted in good faith. The judiciary, too, must soon make its position known.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024

 

[Ghazi52]

After PTI, BNP-M claims lawmakers under pressure to vote for ‘constitutional package’​

Nadir Guramani
September 14, 2024

In this file photo, BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal speaks at the National Press Club in Quetta. — White Star

The chief of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Akhtar Mengal, has claimed that two senators of his party were being “pressurised” to vote in favour of a highly anticipated “constitutional package”.

The “constitutional package” is a set of proposed amendments to the Constitution that aims to — among other things — fix the tenure of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) at three years.

With sessions of both houses of the parliament summoned this evening (Saturday) with only an hour’s gap, the legislation seems set to be introduced in the parliament today.

A constitutional amendment is passed or rejected through open ballot, in which those who go against their parties’ stance cannot conceal their vote.

While speaking to DawnNewsTV programme Doosra Rukh on Friday, the BNP-M leader said that the houses of two of his party’s senators were being raided.

“There is Senator Muhammad Qasim whose house was raided and even now, in Karachi, intelligence agencies’ cars are patrolling his house,” Mengal alleged.

“Our second senator Nasima Ehsaan has said that her relatives and her husband are being pressurised,” he added.

He said Ehsaan was threatened that her property would be confiscated, adding that the government was only having “this kind of communication” with the party.

“But no formal communication took place,” the BNP-M chief said.

Mengal added that the government wanted to bring about the constitutional amendment by either keeping the people unaware of it or by using force.

Opposition parties — including the PTI, BNP-M and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — have warned their members that they could be unseated from parliament if they voted in favour of the proposed constitutional package.

Speaking to reporters, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan stated that since there was no cabinet meeting to approve the constitutional package, it could not legally be presented in the National Assembly.

“According to Rules 16 and 27 of the Rules of Business, the government has to move the bill through the parliament and ministry of law and then present it to the cabinet,” Gohar said. “If the cabinet approves the bill, it has to be approved by the PM and be presented to parliament.”

“However, there was no cabinet meeting to approve the bill, nor was it on the agenda,” he argued. “The bill therefore cannot be moved; it is illegal and contravenes the Rules of Business and the Constitution.”

The PTI chairman lamented that the opposition had “demanded that the government make legislation in the open,” but they were not doing that.
Earlier this week, senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser accused the government of using strong-arm tactics to bully its opponents into supporting the constitutional package, hours before before police took the PTI’s top leadership into custody over a case pertaining to its Sept 8 rally.

Speaking on a point of order in the NA on Monday, Qaiser had said his party’s lawmakers were being “coerced” to support the government’s legislative package and asked deputy speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah to intervene.

“We have been receiving complaints from our MNAs. They are constantly receiving threats. They are being coerced to support a legislative package which the government is bringing [to the parliament],” said Qaiser, who had served as the NA speaker during the Imran Khan government.

He had also alleged that some opposition members were being lured with different offers.

 

[Ghazi52]

‘Constitutional Package’ set to see light of day​

Syed Irfan Raza
September 14, 2024

• Much-touted legislation aimed at giving country’s top judge a fixed term expected to be tabled today
• NA and Senate summoned on weekend; govt members say amendment may be introduced in upper house first
• Coalition claims to have ‘done its homework’; Fazl’s support seen as holding key to govt’s success

ISLAMABAD: A highly anticipated “Constitutional Package” that aims to — among other things — fix the tenure of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) at three years, seems set to be introduced in parliament today (Saturday).

While on the face of it, it is still not certain whether the ruling coalition has the numbers required to secure the passage of the constitutional amendment — which requires the assent of at least two-thirds of lawmakers — around 224 votes out of a total of 336 members in the lower house. But as of now, it appears that the government is short of at least a dozen votes in both houses.

However, if posturing by government spokespersons is anything to go by, the Shehbaz Sharif administration seems confident it will be able to secure the required numbers of vote to have the amendment passed.

Sessions of both houses of parliament have been summoned this evening (Saturday), with only an hour’s gap. It is unusual for parliament to convene on a weekend, as this usually does not happen outside budget sessions or sitting convened for a specific, time-sensitive issue.

Although the officially issued agenda for the NA session does not include any mention of the amendment, experience has shown that such items are usually laid before the house as part of a supplementary agenda.

Parties in the ruling coalition — including the PML-N, PPP, MQM and others — have directed their members to stay in the capital over the weekend days to ensure their presence in both houses for the passage of the legislation.

Parliamentary party meetings have been held on an almost daily basis since the start of the current session of the National Assembly, ostensibly in a bid to keep an eye on the availability of their members.

To illustrate their seriousness, a source in the PPP told Dawn that PPP MNA Nafisa Shah, who wanted to proceed to her hometown to celebrate birthday of her father, former Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah, on Friday, but was not allowed to leave the federal capital until the conclusion of the session.

Barrister Aqeel Malik, an aide to the PM on legal affairs, claimed on Friday that the bill to turn the position of the CJP into a tenured post will be tabled today (Saturday).

“The bill will be introduced on Saturday and I think it will be tabled first in the Senate and then in the National Assembly,” he added.

Asked whether the government had the support of the required number of legislators, he said that both houses were summoned to meet after the government did its homework thoroughly.

A senator of the ruling PML-N also told Dawn that the bill — referred to in the media as a ‘Constitutional Package’ as it includes amendments to a number of constitutional articles — was likely to be introduced today (Saturday).

“We have been asked to ensure our presence in parliament on these days,” he said.

Asked whether incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa would also benefit from the bill’s passage, Barrister Aqeel said that once any legislation became part of the Constitution, it applied to all concerned. However, the CJP’s recent clarification seems to indicate that he was not interested in a ‘person-specific’ change to the law, nor was he onboard for an extension in his tenure.

Despite attempts by opposition parties at enforcing strict discipline among their ranks, it is rumoured that the government had managed to win over some PTI-allied lawmakers who are apparently willing to jump ship to lend their support to the ruling coalition.

The government has also been trying its best to woo JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman — a long-time ally of the Sharifs. If he does indeed lend his support to the ‘Constitutional Package’, the government will be in a commanding position in the Senate, but would still be short of around four to five votes in the National Assembly.

A constitutional amendment is passed or rejected through open ballot, in which those who go against their parties’ stance cannot conceal their vote.

An official of the National Assembly Secretariat said that although the government was apparently short of the number of votes it required, past precedent indicated that the amendments could be passed through some backdoor deals.

He quoted the example of the election of incumbent Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was elected even though the ruling alliance seemingly did not enjoy the support of the required number of senators.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2024

 

[Ghazi52]

 

[Ghazi52]

A Complete Report;
Authored by the O&S Directorate and subsidiary divisions.

THE CONSTITUTION (TWENTY SIXTH AMENDMENT) ACT, 2024:

SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN TO BECOME “THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT”

CHIEF JUSTICES TO BE APPOINTED BY EXECUTIVE, AND LATER LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The complete text of the Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2024 is provided before the report:

Constitution Amendment Bill (Constitution 26th Amendment Act).pdf​

drive.google.com

START

From: The Parliament of Pakistan, Lower House (The National Assembly)

State of Pakistan Activity: Law Making, Amendment/Addition to our Constitution, the Order of the State and Republic.

Activity Type: A Constitutional Law to Reform the Judicial Branch of the State of Pakistan and the Independence of Judiciary from Other Branches of Government.

Introducer: The Fifth Sharif Administration, the Prime Ministry of Shehbaz Sharif

Legislative Action: The National Assembly of Pakistan was called to session on Sunday night at near midnight on the 15th September 2024. Urgency was due to the Sharif Administration trying and nearing to achieve the required massive Parliamentary Majority Representation of two-thirds of the entire house to pass a law which amends and adds to our Constitution. However the session was immediately closed, and now scheduled for 1230 Hours today (with delays expected)

Representation: The required votes by lawmakers will represent 66.7% of the entire country, or in our case the law would be the demand of the way of life for well over half of Pakistan’s people.
Or exactly 166 million and 700 thousand Pakistanis.

The Law/Bill to be added to Our Constitution:

The Fifth Sharif Administration and their political/coalition allied political parties are attempting to pass a constitutional amendment which will reform the Apex Court and extend the tenure of the current Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Significance: The amendment, a massive expenditure of political capital by the Sharif Prime Ministerial Administration, is now the foremost legislative goal of the Federal Government of Pakistan and Prime Minister’s Office.

Hence under ideal conditions and assumptions that may or may not reflect reality, it must obviously be the most important legislative matter for our betterment, the average common citizen of the electorate.

What Will Happen If Bill Passes and Becomes Constitution, Or More Simply The Goal of the Government By Introducing The Bill:

1. The seizure of entry by traditional conventional seniority into the top judicial office of the apex court of the land, by the senior-most Judge of the Supreme court,

2. The extension in tenure and delay in retirement so that the incumbent Chief Justice may stay in Office to continue heading the legal proceedings that the Supreme Court is involved in in the last few years.

3. The Executive Branch of Government will be empowered to appoint (President) the first Chief Justice on the Chief Executive’s (Prime Minister’s) advice, with age of retirement set at 68.

4. All other Chief Justices after the first will be appointed by the National Assembly from the three senior-most judges.

These three goals are deemed to be the most important thing for Pakistan and its People by our Government; so much so that it must become a part of our Constitution.

The exact national or public interest declared by the Federal Government that this amendment is providing by addition into the Constitution of Pakistan is unclear to this author at the time of this report’s research assessment and publication.

The Independence of the Judiciary must be upheld. If the Law and Order system of the country becomes compromised; there is no hope for that country functioning as a civilised society and state.

Hence since we have concluded that the Independence of judiciary should be untouchable and above compromise, then it is a logical argument that the Government's clarification on this Bill's purpose and urgency is in support of the judiciary's independence.

 

[Ghazi52]

Additional advisory for Members of National Assembly and other relevant principals:

The prime, foremost goal of a nation-state is to provide the citizens that unite together to form its People an independent way of life according to their choice, hopes and aspirations that is ensured and protected by the State as its sole purpose and objective, and to provide that it is governed with a Government and its institutional branches, that runs the country according to a collection of laws that combine to make up a Constitution, made by the People themselves directly through chosen representatives elected by them to provide governance, taxation and an economic system, all national services and public development, and as such act as the limited electoral term holder of the Offices of the Executive authority of the state, as a public service and to preserve the national order.

A constitutional amendment is the highest form of legislature that a Parliament can enact into law through democratic voting. It is an act of the people’s direct representatives voting into the permanent national order a way of life, that will govern the land of this nation. The Constitution is the Prime Essence and Fundamental Component that gives the State its existence and order. It is a contract between a group of people who want an independent sovereign territory to live together in their choice of life and society, and all of what makes up a country. It is the complete written embodiment of the State.

The legislature, the Parliament and its bicameral houses, is the collective body representing all the People, and is an physical embodiment of the Will of The People, the State’s highest granter of authority. This system of national statehood is called democracy, and is the most successful system of governance ever developed by mankind, if allowed to exist unadulterated in its original form. Democracy always wins over all other forms of governance.

The process of granting the People’s elected representatives a mandate to govern by each single citizen after knowing their electoral manifesto which they believed to the best of their knowledge that would give the People through their own choice the best solution they want for the issues and matters of national interest, and then in Parliament it may be introduced, debated on, revised and passed, signed into law and then can be enacted and enforced into becoming the Law of The Land, a part of our State; and Constitution.

The beauty of democracy. The system of government that is tried, tested and proven that if followed in true letter and spirit, and without intervention, interference and undermining the democratic processes and institutions, then can lift a country up from colonialism to the leading superpower of Human history, i.e. in example the United States of America. Similar is the socioeconomic situation and opportunities for an average adult man in both a newly-independent third world low-income/HDI country and the average newly-American adult man in 1776.

While democratic process of government for the people, by the people, of the People is not smooth and sometimes even rocky in the beginning, it allowed to grow and flourish, can transform societies and territories into global leaders of state power; and economically resource-rich several times greater than any civilisation in human history.

But if not allowed to flourish and democratic rule of the People is violated illegally and wrongly, through either force or through stealing a variety of corrupt use of state power and systems for personal gain, or by deliberately compromising national law, or by imposing a authoritarian order; then the interests and goals, of the entire nation is given over to the wisdom and point of life view of a single human. That one human is no God, and is statistically average, and to err is to be human.

The errors of one human would be transmitted to governance of an entire nation, breaking down into dissolution.

END

 

[Ghazi52]

 

[Ghazi52]

Despite ‘no’ from Fazl, govt clings to hope​

Syed Irfan Raza
September 19, 2024

• PML-N leaders say consultations with political parties underway, appear confident of roping in JUI-F
• Fazl ‘rejects’ constitutional amendments after meeting with PTI; Qaiser says party to coordinate with JUI-F on ‘all issues’

ISLAMABAD: After Maulana Fazlur Rehman ‘completely rejected’ the proposed constitutional package chalked up by the PML-N, the coalition government without losing hope has stepped up consultations with other political parties to evolve a consensus on the controversial amendments to the Constitution.

In a media talk following a meeting between the JUI-F chief and the PTI leaders at the residence of former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday, the JUI-F leader said, “We have completely rejected the proposed package as the government is itself saying that there’s no draft of the constitutional package.”

 

[Ghazi52]

 

[Ghazi52]

Bilawal affirms commitment to constitutional amendments ahead of Oct 25 deadline​

PPP chairman asserts party will not abandon the constitutional court matter, vowing to see it through to completion

News Desk
October 02, 2024

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/PPP

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has reiterated his commitment to completing the constitutional amendments, stating that if they are finalised before October 25, the matter can be resolved peacefully.

In a session with reporters in Islamabad on Wednesday, Bilawal was asked about his stance on former prime minister Imran Khan's military trial. He replied, “We need to assess the evidence first; after all, we have the authority to grant a presidential pardon.” He maintained that the PPP stands against the death penalty.

When questioned about the proposed constitutional amendments and their deadline of October 25, he stated, “If the amendments are made before October 25, the matter can be settled peacefully. While they can be done later, it may lead to confrontational situations.”

He further asserted that the PPP would not abandon the matter concerning the constitutional court, vowing to see it through to completion. “We have already faced significant delays; our demands date back to 2006 and are part of our manifesto,” he added.

Bilawal also criticised the judiciary's timing regarding certain actions, questioning why the timing of the injunction on reserved seats was not being scrutinised. He pointed out that the judiciary's four-page clarification issued on September 14, the day of a parliamentary session, raised questions about the judicial timing.

He mentioned that the head of the constitutional court would serve a three-year term and expressed his opposition to the establishment of military courts, emphasising that the justification for the federal constitutional court lies in the Supreme Court's historical precedents.

On the Karachi unrest case, which has been ongoing since 2011, Bilawal noted that the judiciary had affected the local government system under the pretext of this case, questioning whether unrest existed only in Karachi, as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also face similar issues.

He further criticised the political manoeuvring regarding the selection of the next Army Chief, suggesting that events on May 9 were bordering on insurrection. He warned that if constitutional amendments are not enacted, the resulting situation might spiral beyond anyone's control, noting that the 18th Amendment had previously blocked the path to martial law.

 

[Ghazi52]

Govt lacks two-thirds majority for constitutional amendments: Bilawal​

PPP chairman calls for non-political judiciary, critiques govt's approach to judicial reforms

News
October 03, 2024

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. PHOTO: PID

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has stated that the judiciary must remain completely apolitical, noting that the government lacks the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments and is attempting to bring Maulana Fazlur Rehman on board regarding this issue.

In an interview with a private television channel on Wednesday, Bilawal expressed that it would have been more beneficial if the government had consulted the PPP regarding judicial reforms before making announcements.

He criticised the government for not approaching the party first and highlighted that the law minister had announced reforms in the Supreme Court without prior discussions.

Bilawal pointed out that direct intervention had been made in the judicial reform process, reiterating that the PPP has long opposed military courts, as stated in their manifesto.

He remarked that while the founders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) may choose not to engage with politicians, the public will hold them accountable during elections.

He further noted that both the PPP and the government agreed on the necessity of judicial reforms, but he suggested that the amendments could have been presented in a better manner. “If the government has different proposals for judicial reforms, it should be discussed openly,” he added.

Continuing his critique, Bilawal stated that political stability can only be established by political forces. He accused the PTI founders of rejecting the Charter of Democracy, viewing it as a compromise, and claimed they lack interest in improving democracy and governance.

He asserted that Pakistan has become a democratic country, free from past issues, and highlighted that the PTI leadership had previously stated they would accept accountability and imprisonment if necessary.