Hasn’t received formal draft of proposed 27th Amendment: Chan

ISLAMABAD: PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan on Monday said they had not so far received any formal draft of the proposed 27th Amendment and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — his party chairman — presented the government demand before the people.

On the other hand, PML-N leader Khurram Dastgir said it was the Centre to deal with the foreign debt despite lack of financial resources as the provinces did not contribute in this respect.

Twenty years have passed since the PPP’s commitment to the Constitutional Court, he remarked.

Separately, PTI leader Asad Qaiser described the proposal as attempt to rollback provincial autonomy which, he said, everyone should oppose.

However, PTI Senator Ali Zafar predicted the PPP at the end would back the amendment.

It is a government responsibility to clarify the things to the masses about the amendment, Chan told Asma Shirazi — the host of HUM News programme “Faisla Aap Ka”.

The PPP Central Committee will meet on Nov 6 and discuss the matter, he said and added that talks on the subject would be held only after the government shared a draft of the constitutional amendment.

WHAT DID BILWAWAL SAY?

The day had started with Bilawal posting a statement on X in which he said the government sought his party’s help get the planned 27th Amendment pass through the Parliament.

The proposed amendment include the establishment of a Constitutional Court — a move on which both late Benazir Bhutto and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had agreed in the Charter of Democracy that later gave birth to the 18th Amendment.

Although the 26th Amendment resulted in formation of Constitutional Bench at the Supreme Court as well as in the case provincial high courts, the confusion and controversary surrounding the move meant experts had started speculating about another amendment for establishing the Constitutional Court.

Certainly, the political compromise in the shape of Constitutional Bench — thanks to government lacking the required numbers in the Parliament — didn’t work.

However, it also suggests measures like removal of protection of provincial share in NFC as well as handing over the subjects of education and population planning to the Centre, which means reversing essential parts of 18th Amendment.

It will certainly test the PPP’s commitment to the 18th Amendment which the party considers its flagship contribution.

Meanwhile, the planned 27th Amendment, according to Bilawal, also envisages changes in Article 143 that deals with establishing the principle of Centre’s supremacy in case of conflict between a federal law and a provincial one.

JUI-F FACTOR

Senator Kamran Murtaza was another guest participating in “Faisla Aap Ka” who told Shirazi that the planned move is perhaps a result of JUI-F opposing the proposed changes through the 26th Amendment.