ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill during a ruckus-marred session attended by political heavyweights, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
The bill was passed by a two-way voting process — voting by division and clause-by-clause voting. Presented in the house for voting by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the bill will now be referred back to the Senate for the new amendments to be debated upon again and then will be passed by the upper house.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said the bill received 234 votes in favour and four against.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said the house exhibited solidarity and national unity was promoted. He thanked the lawmakers on his behalf and that of the nation.
The prime minister also paid tribute to deceased PML-N senator Irfan Siddiqui, hailing him as the “teacher of teachers”, and lauded his loyalty to Nawaz.
The premier also condemned the “dastardly” attempt by terrorists to carry out an incident in Wana, saying the event made one think of the Army Public School massacre. “These khawarij, in which unfortunately Afghans were also involved, were all sent to hell and all cadets, students and teachers were safely rescued. I want to congratulate the nation on this and want to thank the army and law enforcement agencies who exhibited professionalism and saved the nation’s youth,” he added.
PM Shehbaz also addressed the suicide blast in Islamabad and said it was no hidden matter now that the hand of terrorists was plain to see in such incidents.
Referring to his statement yesterday in which he had blamed Indian involvement, the Fitna al-Khawarij and said “footprints of Afghanistan are also seen”, the prime minister said India had subsequently issued remarks rubbishing the allegations.
“I don’t need to say a lot. The terrorists who abducted a train in Balochistan, the Jaffer Express, we brought its evidence before the whole world how TTP and BLA were active from Afghanistan and were in contact with terrorists there and also with their supporters in India.
“We presented these facts before the whole world and no one challenged or rebutted them.”
Thus, the prime minister said the notion that Pakistan’s terrorist enemies were not involved in the attacks was akin to calling day as night and vice versa.
“I want to say something with great satisfaction and force to these terrorist elements and enemies of Pakistan that we are fully aware of your actions and we have given you a befitting response before and will do so again as well.”
Referring to the negotiations with Afghanistan in Turkiye, he said Pakistan had only one demand in the talks and for the past two years, that the Afghan Taliban rein in terrorist outfits operating from their soil and waging attacks here.
He said Pakistan wanted peace and for Afghanistan to become an equal partner in the endeavour because “we believe what is good for Pakistan is good for them and vice versa but this cannot happen that they make false promises and then don’t clamp down [on terrorists].”
Referring to the Afghan foreign minister’s visit to India and his engagements there, PM Shehbaz said: “We are perfectly understanding these messages but I still want to take advantage of the opportunity and say: come, sit with a sincere heart and clamp down on terrorists, give a commitment and we will fully walk with you so there is peace in the whole region and it becomes a centre of prosperity and development.”
Coming to the 27th Amendment, the prime minister thanked President Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz, Bilawal and other allies. He said the amendment had become part of the Constitution after the consultation process, adding that the Charter of Democracy had always envisioned a constitutional court and now that “dream” was fulfilled.
Referring to Pakistan’s military performance in the May conflict against India and subsequent diplomatic outreach, PM Shehbaz said the series of moves had rendered India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “helpless”, adding that the Indian premier was still helpless.
“Regarding this, we fully need to promote national unity and solidarity and I think the constitutional court that has come into being is the peak of the Charter of Democracy. I also want to thank Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi for supporting us within the ambit of the Constitution.”
He also pointed out that the Supreme Court’s chief justice would continue to head the Supreme Judicial Council, Judicial Commission of Pakistan, Law and Justice Commission and other important constitutional institutions.
The prime minister again credited Pakistan’s military performance in May for raising the country’s reputation and prestige in the wider international community. He said that was the reason why the whole nation supported the decision of the government and its allies to give the rank of field marshal to the army chief.
PM Shehbaz further said that there was no difference in thinking between him and Bilawal, saying the provinces would be strong if the Centre was strong and vice versa. He said rolling back the 18th Amendment or the National Finance Commission award unilaterally was out of the question until there was complete consultation on the matter.
However, the premier said here: “I am with that which strengthens Pakistan and the federation and against that which weakens them.”
He further said: “That thing which weakens the federation, no matter how good it is on its own, is not good for Pakistan.”
