ISLAMABAD: Atta Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information, dismissed claims that the 18th Amendment was being tampered with and, at the same time, he confirmed that the magistracy system would be restored under the 27th Amendment to the Constitution.
In an interview with a private news channel, Geo News, Minister Tarar explained that no changes were being made to 18th Amendment, which had decentralized power in the country quite significantly. He elaborated that the main focus of the proposed amendment was on the restoration of the magistracy system which is a system that Pakistan’s law has had for a long time but which was done away with.
“In the proposed 27th Amendment, we do not intend to interfere with the 18th Amendment. The talks on this amendment only concern such things as the magistracy system, which we are reintroducing,” Tarar said. He assured people that the 27th Amendment would not take away the benefits of the 18th Amendment, that gave most of the powers to the provinces.
When asked about the constitutional court, Tarar answered that it had been the subject of their discussions for a long time and he was hopeful that the issue would be solved soon. He likewise remarked that amendments to the constitution were a normal thing in the political arena as the country adjusted to new times and situations.
Tarar indicated that he had not noticed any significant obstacles with regard to the 27th Amendment during their last meetings. He also affirmed that the magistracy system was something that was familiar with the country as it had been long practice before being substituted. Its restoration would mean reintroducing a certain level of the judicial system that is efficient as well as accountable.
According to him, the Federal Cabinet would make the final decision about this issue after the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting later today.
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Furthermore, Tarar criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for their act of distorting the 27th Amendment narrative especially about the role of the provinces. He also reacted to the CM statement and said that Afridi was “most likely” creating controversy deliberately to get more attention. He accused him of showing such behavior intending to get fame by generating controversies.
Related to the matter of Afghanistan, Tarar was unwilling to accept the latest accusations made against Pakistan and expressed his optimism that the talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan would lead to positive results. At the same time, he was reiterating that terrace for no terrorist activities coming from Afghan soil to Pakistan.
