27th Constitutional Amendment: NA to begin session today

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) session will begin today at 11 a.m., during which the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill will be tabled.

An eleven-point agenda has been issued for the session. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarrar will table the Constitutional Amendment Bill for voting.

For the approval of a constitutional amendment, the government requires 224 votes, making a two-thirds majority. Currently, the government has the support of 238 NA members.

A day earlier, the Senate passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment with a two-thirds majority, as 64 senators voted in favour.

However, opposition parties Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) boycotted the voting.

Before the final vote, 59 clauses of the amendment were approved through a standing vote. When the government fell short by two votes for the bill’s passage, two opposition members supported it.

JUI-F’s Ahmad Khan and PTI Senator Saifullah Abro voted in favour of the amendment. Later, Senator Saifullah Abro announced his resignation during the session.

After the amendment’s approval, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar congratulated the House, saying that the establishment of a Constitutional Court was essential under the Charter of Democracy to deal with constitutional matters separately.