Fazlur Rehman draws red line on Article 243 amid 27th Amendment debate

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that if any changes to Article 243 in proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment negatively impact the country’s politics, constitution or democracy, his party will not accept it.

However, he said that “we will have no objection if the changes are purely administrative in nature and part of normal governance.”

Talking to the media in Islamabad, Maulana Fazl said that if the powers granted to provinces under the 18th Amendment are curtailed in any way, JUI-F will strongly oppose it.

He said that under the Constitution, the NFC Award allows for an increase in provincial shares, not a reduction.

“If an attempt is made to usurp the provinces’ due share, we have already taken a principled decision to oppose it firmly,” he said.

The JUI-F chief emphasised that the dominance of a single institution’s viewpoint should not prevail.

“Parliament and all relevant stakeholders must sit together to adopt a collective national stance,” he said.

Recalling earlier political coordination, the JUI-F chief said that during the 26th Constitutional Amendment, all political parties had remained in contact.

“Through that coordination, we made the government withdraw 35 clauses. The 18th Amendment was not a contest between rival parties — everyone was in agreement at the time,” he noted.

Earlier, the federal cabinet meeting, which was scheduled today under the chair of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to approve the 27th Constitutional Amendment, was postponed.

According to sources, the meeting was called off due to the prime minister’s busy schedule. The cabinet was expected to give formal approval to the proposed 27th Amendment during today’s session.

Responding to a question about Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, the JUI-F chief said he was hopeful for a positive outcome.

“I am waiting for good news and for the success of the talks. Both are neighbouring countries, and the well-being of both lies in the establishment of peace,” he said.