ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held meetings with the delegations of multiple parties on Thursday in what appears to be efforts by the government to prepare the ground to get a 27th Constitutional Amendment approved by Parliament.
Among those he met was a seven-member delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), which was led by party Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said “discussion and consultation took place on the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment” during the meeting.
The delegation also included Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, Members of National Assembly Dr Farooq Sattar, Jawed Hanif Khan, Syed Aminul Haque and Khawaja Izharul Hassan, the statement added.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah were also present in the meeting.
They were also present in PM Shehbaz’s meetings with the delegations of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).
A separate PMO statement said party President and Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan and Minister of State for Overseas Pakistanis Aun Chaudhry were part of the IPP delegation that held a meeting with PM Shehbaz and discussed the proposed 27th Amendment.
Another statement by the PMO said the premier also met a delegation of the PML-Q, which was led by Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain, and discussed the proposed constitutional amendment.
The PML-Q delegation also included Senator Kamil Ali Agha and MNAs Mohammad Ilyas Choudhary and Farukh Khan.
A day earlier, the MQM-P had demanded that local governments (LGs) be given autonomy in the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment after the PPP revealed key features of the proposed amendment for which the PML-N-led government sought its support.
The party said that after provincial autonomy had been granted under the 18th Amendment of 2010, the “next step naturally is local autonomy, so it’s turn must come”.
“The important thing that we also said at the time of the 26th Amendment, that our constitutional amendment package be included,” MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar said yesterday during a presser, referring to its agreement with the PML-N to empower local governments.
“But it did not happen,” he lamented, calling for the matter to be included in the 27th Amendment.
The government had last year passed a 26th Constitutional Amendment. It was passed by parliament during an overnight session in October 2024, with the PTI claiming seven of its lawmakers were abducted to gain their favour as the party opposed the legislation.
The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) also alleged its two senators were being pressured, with both later defying party line to vote in the tweaks’ favour.
Even though the 26th Amendment remains mired in controversy and faces challenges in the court, the power corridors in Islamabad remained abuzz with talk of a possible 27th Constitutional Amendment, which, according to insiders, will further “fine-tune” the structure and the functioning of the superior judiciary.
In August, however, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had said during a press conference that the country was “running well” and experiencing stability and economic improvement, adding that there was no need for the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
Bilawal had also previously dismissed talk of any potential legislation regarding a 27th Amendment as “baseless rumours”.
But, the ruling coalition now seems to be steering in a different direction. The matter of the proposed legislation had reportedly come up during an Oct 27 meeting between Bilawal and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The two leaders had met to discuss the prevailing political situation and formulate a joint strategy on key national issues.
