Govt’s proposed constitutional amendment bill is likely to be presented in NA session today

ISLAMABAD: The government’s proposed constitutional amendment bill is expected to be presented in the National Assembly session scheduled for Sunday (today), according to sources.

The NA and Senate are likely to begin their sessions at 4pm and 7pm, respectively, and the bill may be introduced in the lower house via a supplementary agenda.

Sources said that the amendment aims to establish a constitutional court and modify Article 63-A of the Constitution, which addresses the defection of lawmakers.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed in the Senate that the bill aligns with the Charter of Democracy, which all political parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have endorsed.

Additionally, the amendment proposes raising the retirement age of superior judges by three years. Currently, Article 179 states that Supreme Court judges retire at 65, and Article 195 sets the retirement age for High Court judges at 62.

The government is also considering changes to the seniority rule for appointing the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), as confirmed by Barrister Aqeel Malik, the government’s spokesperson on legal affairs.

Currently, Article 175A mandates that the most senior Supreme Court judge is appointed as CJP. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leaders, Khawaja Asif and Irfan-ul-Haque Siddiqui, have written to party members, urging them to vote in favor of the amendment. They emphasized the importance of every member participating in the vote.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has also directed its members to attend the session and vote according to party instructions. Meanwhile, the NA has released a six-point agenda for today’s session, including a motion of thanks for President Asif Ali Zardari’s address and other legislative matters.

A federal cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, will take place at the Parliament House, where the draft of the amendment is expected to be approved. An in-camera session of the Special Committee on Constitution and Parliamentary Affairs, led by Syed Khursheed Shah, will also discuss the bill.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif expressed hope for some consensus on the amendments, while criticizing PTI for not respecting the Constitution or cooperating with other parties. He also emphasized that the amendments are not aimed at extending the tenure of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa but are part of broader reforms to restore balance between the judiciary and the parliament.

In the Senate, opposition leader Shibli Faraz referenced Article 63-A, which governs party defections, in response to Senator Dar’s request for support. Farooq H. Naik argued that the Supreme Court had overstepped its authority by rewriting the Constitution in a previous case, instead of interpreting it.