The Senate session convened to approve the draft of the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment is currently in progress, where members are presenting their views and engaging in an extensive debate on various clauses of the amendment.
During his address in the session, Pakistan Muslim League (N) Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani remarked that if the opposition had genuine objections to the draft, they should have brought forward their own proposed amendments, participated actively in committee meetings, and clearly explained which specific aspects of the constitutional draft they considered problematic.
He further stated that constitutional courts exist in countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain; therefore, it is unclear why the opposition considers the establishment of such a court in Pakistan to be an issue. According to him, the opposition has likely not even read the amendment in detail. Referring to the judicial backlog, he noted that nearly fifty thousand cases are currently pending before the Supreme Court and questioned how such a massive caseload could be reduced without meaningful reforms.
Senator Durrani added that it was the same people who amended the law in 2022 and later became the target of the very legislation they had introduced. He reminded the House that during that period, fifty-two bills were passed by the Senate within just fifty-two minutes, asking where democratic principles stood at that time.
A day earlier, the joint parliamentary committee on law and justice had approved the basic draft of the amendment. Now, Senator Farooq H. Naek will present the standing committee’s report in the House, while Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar will move the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill for formal approval.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was asked by journalists whether the government had the necessary numbers in the Senate to get the amendment passed. Ishaq Dar responded confidently, saying, “Yes, God willing.”
Reporters then questioned whether Senator Jan Buleidi had agreed to support the bill.
Ishaq Dar replied briefly, stating that everything would become evident once the voting takes place.
