JUI-F walks out of first parliamentary meeting on 27th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) on Saturday staged a walkout from the first meeting of the joint parliamentary standing committee on law and justice formed to consult on the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment bill.

Earlier, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani referred the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment bill to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for review.

The joint parliamentary standing committee held an in-camera session on Saturday to discuss the proposed constitutional amendment.

JUI-F National Assembly member Aliya Kamran said that her party has reservations regarding Article 243 and would oppose any amendments to it.

She said that contents dropped from the 26th Amendment had been included again in the 27th Amendment.

Kamran also raised concerns about judicial matters, questioning if judges of the Constitutional Court or those of the Supreme Court would carry more authority.

She criticised the increase in the number of advisers, saying, “In a poor country, increasing the number of advisers does not benefit the public.”

Later, the JUI-F walked out of the meeting.

The parliamentary committee on law and justice adjourned the session till 11 am Sunday to resume again.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that it was JUI-F’s democratic right to boycott the session. He said that Aliya Kamran told him that the party has asked its members to walk out. “We have shared the draft of the 27th Amendment with all parties and asked the opposition to submit their suggestions on the floor of the House. To say ‘I won’t accept it’ would be inappropriate,” he said.

On the establishment of a federal constitutional court, Tarar said the issue has been debated for 15–20 years.

He explained that it could not be implemented during the 18th Amendment, and attempts were also made during the 26th Amendment, but opposition from JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman prevented progress.

He said that the plan then was to try constitutional benches, but the judges continued to hear other cases to dispose of the backlog of 60 to 70,000 cases in the Supreme Court.

He said that all members listened patiently during the first meeting. He said that about 60 per cent of the draft 27th Amendment was discussed, and various members raised questions, which were addressed courteously.

Earlier, the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill was presented in the Senate with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar requesting suspension of the question hour and other proceedings so he could brief senators on the proposed amendment.

After the bill was tabled, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani referred it to the law and justice committee for detailed review. He directed the committee to invite the National Assembly’s law and justice committee chairperson and members to participate in deliberations, keeping in view parliamentary traditions and the significance of constitutional amendments.