The National Assembly (NA) has finally passed the 26th constitutional amendment bill with a two-third majority after a long session.
The NA session started on Sunday night and extended into the early hours of Monday morning, witnessing heated debates between opposition and treasury benches.
The government required 224 votes to pass the bill and enact it into law.
Once the speeches were concluded, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq began the voting process on the constitutional amendment bill.
Then, the members of the opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a walkout during the voting.
Approved by the federal cabinet earlier in the day with the consensus of the government’s coalition partners, the bill was presented in the Senate on Sunday by Law Minister Azam Tarar. Once the bill was officially tabled, it was passed.
Speaking about speculations regarding the extension of the chief justice’s tenure in the Constitutional Package, Tarar clarified that Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa was not interested in any extension.
“During the three meetings that I had with the top judge, he reiterated his disinterest in the extension of his tenure, saying that any amendments would come into effect after his retirement,” Tarar said.
Why PTI was against this constitutional amendment bill?
The party has said that its political committee has decided to boycott the voting process in both houses of the parliament, in case the government tabled the constitutional amendments today.
PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, said that the party had “no objections” to the final draft, but will not vote on the bill when it is presented in parliament.
“Our leader Imran Khan will always have the final say on party decisions, so we act on his instructions and recommendations,” the PTI chairman said.
“He instructed us to have more consultations before voting since this legislation is so serious.
