ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has announced the party’s unequivocal backing of the constitutional revision plan, especially the changes proposed in Article 243 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Also, he cautioned against any kind of alterations which might affect provincial shares under the Constitution.
After the meeting, the media was addressed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who confirmed that the party had decided to turn down the proposal of changing the NFC formula. He also remarked that the Chief Election Commissioner was not in a position to give his assent to any other proposal related to the constitutional amendment.
We have made up our minds to oppose any changes to the NFC formula as well as other proposals related to this amendment, Bilawal mentioned in his media interaction.
Regarding the changes to Article 243 of the Constitution, which deals with the military’s command structure, Bilawal mentioned that the CEC had given its approval to the amendments. The changes to civil-military relations being more balanced and the armed forces becoming more accountable and transparent are the key parts of the amendments.
Besides this, Bilawal spoke about a constitutional court being set up and his party having proposed that the court should have an equal number of members from each of the four provinces. According to him, the decision on the matter would finally be made after the next CEC meeting which is scheduled for later today, after the Friday prayers.
The Federal Cabinet is expected to give its nod today to the draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Sources reveal that the Cabinet will have a briefing on the proposed changes before they take a decision on their approval.
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Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Tuesday that the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill will be first presented in the Senate by the government and assured that the legislation would follow all constitutional procedures and consultation would be made with the coalition partners.
Dar, while speaking to the Senate session, said that it is necessary to appoint the Leader of the Opposition and that the government has no objection to the process.
“The 27th Constitutional Amendment is coming soon and will be tabled in the Houses as per the Constitution. The government is taking its partners, i.e. MQM and ANP, into confidence and solving the problems of their reservations,” he said.
Dar promised Senator Ali Zafar that the House would have a full debate on the amendment and that the proposal would be first introduced in the Senate before going ahead with the changes. “There is a proper procedure for legislation. The amendment will also come to the relevant standing committees through a normal route it won’t be here by a shortcut,” he explained.
The deputy prime minister pointed out, in addition, that before finalizing the draft, they would seek the views of the law courts and other interested parties.
While talking about the recent statement of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Dar said Bilawal has every right to his political views. “He was not speaking out of the blue; our meetings have brought us to a common understanding,” he said.
Ishaq Dar, while referring to the government’s past counterterrorism efforts, remembered that between 2013 and 2014, when terrorism was at its worst, yet money was provided and operations were carried out despite the lack of money. “We did the war on terror bravely, even in hard times, we made provision for money,” he stated.
