ISLAMABAD: Rana Sanaullah, the Prime Minister’s Political Affairs Adviser, has hinted that the 28th Constitutional Amendment is coming after the 27th Amendment was recently approved by the Senate.
While appearing on Geo News’ program Capital Talk, Sanaullah disclosed that the amendment to be filed next would deal with education, population, curriculum, and local bodies.
He mentioned that the government had 67–68 senators present at the voting for the 27th Amendment, however, some like Senator Irfan Siddiqui were not able to cast their vote as they were unwell. The 27th Amendment was approved with a two-thirds majority.
Sanaullah emphasized that the opposition had not indicated any clauses of the amendment in which they had any objections. He furthermore brought it to their attention that if the President were to hold any public office, certain provisions from which he was exempted would no longer apply.
PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar remarked that the opposition might file a complaint against the 27th Amendment, but he was uncertain whether it should be filed in the Supreme Court or a constitutional court. Zafar also airing his concerns, suggested that the durability of the amendments could be compromised by passing them on opposition votes, thus, if the constitution is violated for the sake of getting votes, the legitimacy of the amendment may be questioned.
Senate passes 27th constitutional amendment with two-thirds majority
The Senate of Pakistan on Monday passed the 27th constitutional amendment with a two-thirds majority amid the opposition parties’ uproar. 64 senators voted in favour of the amendment of all the clauses.
According to the Senate, it approved 56 clauses and 3 schedules of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, with 64 members voting in favour.
25 Pakistan Peoples Party, 20 PML-N and 6 independent senators voted in favour of the bill. 3 MQM, 3 ANP, 4 BAP and one Q-League senator also supported it.
PTI Senator Saifullah Abro and JUI-F Senator Ahmed Khan also supported the constitutional amendment, while the rest of the PTI, the Sunni Ittehad Council, the MWM, and the JUI-F senators opposed the amendment.
The only National Party senator, Jan Muhammad Buledi, did not attend the meeting, and Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani did not exercise his right to vote. In addition, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui was not present in the meeting due to illness.
The bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was presented in the Senate on Monday for voting by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, with members of the opposition chanting slogans against the government and staging a walkout.
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During this motion, members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protested loudly in front of the Senate Chairman’s desk, tearing up copies of the agenda. However, PTI Senator Saifullah Abro remained seated and did not join the protest.
When the House voted on the motion to introduce the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Saifullah Abro voted in favour of it. Similarly, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Senator Ahmed Khan also voted in support of the amendment.
In total, 64 members of the Senate voted in favour of Clause 2 of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, with both Saifullah Abro and Ahmed Khan among those supporting the motion.
