- PPP chairman asserts coalition govt could have got amendments passed even without JUI-F support
- Criticizes court’s interpretation of constitution, claiming it obstructed govt’s decisions
ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman tried to make the 26th Constitutional Amendment ‘controversial’ by passing remarks against one of their clauses.
In an interview with the BBC, Bilawal said that the coalition government could have got the amendments passed even without the support of the JUI-F. “But we followed the Charter of Democracy (CoD) and tried to develop a consensus among political parties.”
He further said there was not much difference between a constitutional court and a constitutional bench. “By a constitutional court, we don’t mean a separate structure,” he explained.
Bilawal Bhutto expressed confidence that the party’s numbers were sufficient to proceed with a constitutional amendment, even without the support of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
“A significant task like the 26th Constitutional Amendment can be undertaken by any Chief Justice, and it was not feasible in the presence of Mansoor Ali Shah.” He also noted concerns over attempts to politicize Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa.
Bilawal addressed the events of May 9, when military installations were attacked, highlighting the government’s intent to prosecute those responsible. He criticized the court’s interpretation of the constitution, claiming it obstructed the government’s decisions.
He emphasized that for democracy to thrive, a “forced vote” should be avoided, and pointed out that powers initially into ended for the Constitutional Court had been transferred to the Constitutional Bench.
