ISLAMABAD: The opposition reached out to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman late on Wednesday, seeking his support against the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment.
A parliamentary delegation of opposition parties led by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who has also been nominated as the opposition leader in the National Assembly, visited the JUI-F chief’s residence in Islamabad.
The delegation also included Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Allama Raja Nasir, who has been nominated as the leader of the opposition in the Senate, and PTI’s Asad Qaiser, the former speaker of the National Assembly.
A statement posted by the JUI-F on social media platform X said that the leaders discussed the prevailing political situation.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Rehman warned those in power against making the Constitution a “plaything”. He said that a little over a year later, the government was pushing through another constitutional amendment in the same manner as before.
“When amendments are made under coercion, how can the people continue to have faith in the Constitution?” he questioned.
“My fear is that if this continues, public trust in the Constitution will be completely eroded,” he said. The JUI-F said that during deliberations on the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the government was “forced to withdraw 34 clauses that would have undermined key constitutional protections”.
“But now preparations are once again underway to do the same,” he lamented. He further said that the opposition had not yet received the draft of the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, questioning how the legislation could be tabled in Parliament in such a scenario.
“But opposition parties will develop a unified stance on it collectively,” he said. The Maulana further said that the political environment was deliberately being pushed towards confrontation.
“One minister has been working on this amendment for three months. It means that the contents of this amendment came from somewhere else,” the JUI-F chief alleged.
He also accused Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar of deceiving the people, saying that up until recently the PML-N leader had been saying that there was no need for another amendment.
Meanwhile, PTI’s Qaiser said that the JUI-F chief had supported Achakzai’s stance.
“We will look at the 27th Constitutional Amendment collectively. The opposition will be united in the House,” he said.
He further maintained that Achakzai should be notified as the leader of the opposition in the lower house of Parliament as soon as possible.
Speaking to Dawn prior to the meeting, MWM’s Nasir said that there were two main reasons behind the opposition’s criticism of the proposed amendment.
“First, the 26th Constitutional Amendment is currently under litigation and is considered a controversial document,” he pointed out.
“We also oppose the 27th Amendment because we do not know what it entails. How can we support something we are completely unaware of?” he asked. Nasir slammed the incumbent government, saying that it had made a mockery of the state, the democratic system and the nation by showing a lack of transparency.
The meeting of the opposition leaders came the same day that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that clarity on a consensus over the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment was expected within two to three days, after which the legislation was likely to be tabled in Parliament next week.
Earlier this week, the PPP said the government had sought its support for the proposed changes to the Constitution. According to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, proposals for this new amendment include setting up constitutional courts, restoring executive magistrates, ending protection for provincial shares under the National Finance Commission (NFC) and amendments to Article 243 of the Constitution, which pertains to the command of armed forces.
On Tuesday, Deputy PM Dar had confirmed the 27th Constitutional Amendment would be brought before Parliament “soon” but insisted it would not be rushed and denied “external hand” in the amendment.
