ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will hold meetings today with delegations from coalition parties regarding the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment. According to sources, an MQM delegation will meet the Prime Minister at noon to brief him on proposed amendments related to local governments. The party is expected to recommend approval of constitutional changes that strengthen local governance.
Sources said the Prime Minister will take coalition partners into confidence over the proposed amendment, while Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar will brief party representatives on the draft. The meeting will also include discussions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan situation.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Central Executive Committee is set to meet in Karachi today to review the government’s draft of the 27th Amendment. According to insiders, the PPP has raised five key reservations. The party insists that provinces’ share in the National Finance Commission Award must not fall below 57 percent, provincial autonomy should remain intact, and a single national curriculum proposal for education is acceptable only if implemented with consensus.
In a related development, opposition leaders Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Asad Qaiser, and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas visited JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence. The meeting focused on building a stronger opposition alliance over the 27th Amendment.
Currently, the National Assembly comprises 336 members, but with 10 seats vacant, the total stands at 326. To pass the constitutional amendment, 224 votes are required. The ruling coalition, including the PPP, presently commands the support of 237 members.
Among coalition partners, PML-N is the largest with 125 members, followed by PPP with 74, MQM with 22, PML-Q with 5, and IPP with 4 members. Additionally, one member each from PML-Zia, BAP, and National Party, along with four independents, back the government.
The opposition holds 89 seats in total, comprising 75 independents, 10 members of JUI-F, and one representative each from the Sunni Ittehad Council, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, BNP-Mengal, and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.
