- Terms incumbent Parliament incomplete, unconstitutional to make legislation
PESHAWAR: Adviser to KP Chief Minister on Information Barrister Ali Saif on Wednesday described the proposed constitutional amendments as “insult to the Constitution and democracy,” saying the parliament is incomplete and therefore lacked the authority to legislate.
“How can the current parliament introduce constitutional amendments? It is incomplete and therefore lacked the authority to legislate” the CM’s adviser questioned in a statement.
Barrister Saif’s remarks come against the backdrop of the ongoing hectic politicking for the constitutional package the ruling coalition wants to pass allegedly to achieve their political goals.
Speaking on the prospects of talks with the government on the said matter, the KP government spokesperson said that doing so would amount to conceding to the February 8 polls — which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has termed rigged on multiple occasions.
“Negotiations are an attempt to legitimise an unelected and illegitimate government [….] since February 8 the opposition has maintained that the [incumbent] government is an unelected one,” he said.
In the National Assembly, the ruling coalition needs 224 votes to pass the constitutional amendments, whereas in the Senate the number stands at 64. Currently, as per reports, treasury benches have 211 members against the opposition’s 101 MNAs.
Although JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has so far remained seemingly unwilling to back the amendments, which he, in fact, has termed a bid to protect the coalition government,
Adviser on Political and Public Affairs and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah had hinted at evolving “minimum consensus” among political parties on controversial judiciary-centric constitutional amendments that also included the proposal to establish constitutional court — which PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has said would be introduced “come what may”.
The PM’s aide also said that the consultation process with other political parties on the judicial package has not stalled as the Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led PPP and Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led JUI-F were working on their draft amendments.
He added that the drafts could be discussed in the forthcoming consultative sessions after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s return from the United States and opined that the government would table the constitutional package after developing a “minimum consensus”.
