After several delays, the federal government is expected to meet today (Saturday) at 2 p.m. to discuss the much-anticipated 26th constitutional amendment. The National Assembly and Senate sessions will resume after the meeting.
The proposed Constitutional Package includes several changes, such as extending the chief justice’s term. A special parliamentary committee, with members from all political parties, including the PTI, has been working on the proposals for these amendments.
On October 11, the PPP made its suggestions public, and later, they reached an agreement with the JUI-F on a draft of the amendments.
Originally, the federal cabinet was supposed to meet on Friday evening, but it was rescheduled multiple times. First, it was planned for Saturday morning at 9:30 AM, then postponed to 10 AM, then to 12 PM, and now finally set for 2 PM — a total of four delays.
According to a statement on the NA’s X account (formerly Twitter), yesterday’s National Assembly session was postponed until 3 PM today. The constitutional amendments are not listed on the NA’s agenda for today. Similarly, the Senate session, which was set to resume at 12:30 PM, has not started yet.
The government had initially planned to present the amendment draft in the Senate on Friday. However, this was disrupted when JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman threatened to withdraw from negotiations, citing the harassment of opposition lawmakers to gain support for the bill.
PPP’s Syed Khursheed Shah, who leads the special parliamentary committee, said on Friday that the group had reached a “unanimous” agreement. However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari later warned that if political parties couldn’t agree, he would push the amendment through parliament with the help of their coalition ally, the PML-N, using a two-thirds majority.
Friday saw intense discussions at Fazl’s residence, where opposition leaders and ruling coalition members met with him. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited Fazl three times within 24 hours as the JUI-F leader played a key role in mediating concerns about the proposed amendments and alleged pressure on opposition lawmakers.
