• Dar says all Article 243 changes approved; Naek, Tarar empowered to ‘make a couple of amendments’
• MQM, ANP proposals for local govt reforms, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa name-change deferred
• Committee’s report on constitutional tweaks to be tabled in Senate today amid opposition boycott
ISLAMABAD: Amid a boycott by opposition lawmakers, a joint meeting of the Senate and the National Assembly’s law and justice standing committees on Sunday approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill with minor changes.
The bill aims to set up a federal constitutional court and grant permanent immunity to the president as well as lifetime status to the field marshal rank, amid criticism that the amendment will erode the judiciary’s independence.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also attended the meeting, said all key amendments, including changes to Article 243, were amicably approved by both committees. In response to a question about amendments to Article 243, Mr Dar said that all the amendments have been approved. The said article pertains to the military command structure.
Senator Farooq H. Naek, who was presiding over the meeting, said the bill was adopted with minor changes. He said that the committees empowered him and the law minister to make a couple of amendments.
The committees, however, deferred the proposals of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) seeking to amend Article 140 related to local governments as well as the Awami National Party’s (ANP) amendment for changing the name of the province.
The ANP submitted a proposal to rename Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by removing ‘Khyber’, arguing that Khyber is a district and other provinces do not include district names in provincial titles. Likewise, the Balochistan National Party’s proposed amendment to increase the seats in the province was also deferred.
Earlier in the day, ANP’s Hidayatullah Khan had told reporters that the committee had sought time until tomorrow (Monday) to decide on his party’s suggestion for changing the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told reporters it was decided that provinces be taken into confidence on changing the province’s name. MQM-P’s suggestion regarding local governments was also discussed, he said, adding that it was decided that provinces be taken into confidence on changing the province’s name. Mr Tarar further said that the report of the committees would be tabled before the Senate on Monday (today).
Opposition boycott
The standing committees met on Sunday to discuss the proposed bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment a day after it was tabled in the Senate. This bill was approved by the federal cabinet on Saturday hours before it was presented in the upper house of parliament. As Senator Farooq H. Naek chaired the meeting, the PTI, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) continued their boycott of the parliamentary committee.
Referring to the JUI-F’s absence, the law minister had stated its members had informed the committee on Saturday about their party’s policy. He emphasised that parliamentary parties should utilise their right to vote, rather than boycotting the process altogether.
The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), which includes the PTI, announced a nationwide protest movement against the 27th Amendment, urging the people to take a stand against the “extremely dark and dangerous” change in the Constitution.
Separately, PPP’s MNA Kasim Gilani, in a tweet summarised, that the 27th Constitutional Amendment “mainly touches 5 key areas: establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court, transfer of judges (Article 200), fixing the KP Senate election anomaly, [two per cent] cabinet size increase on smaller provinces’ demand (Article 130(6)), [and] amendments in Article 243 on defence services & presidential immunity”.
Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2025
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