Why opposition is trying to stop constitutional amendments

Report by Perspicacity Global

The constitutional package will allow current Chief Justice of Pakistan to remain in office past his scheduled retirement date in October

AMID staunch resistance from opposition parties, the government wants to get a ‘reforms package’ aimed at changing parts of the Constitution approved by parliament. The package aims to amend the existing laws, specifically Article 175, Article 177(i) and 180, Article 179, and Article 200, which deal with the judiciary.

What makes the package controversial?

The government has proposed an amendment to Article 179, which would do away with the current retirement age of Supreme Court judges (65 years) and standardise the judges’ tenures at three years. The move would allow the current Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to remain in office past his scheduled retirement date in October, when he turns 65.

CJP Isa clarified last week in an informal session with the media that he does not intend to seek an extension and has already rejected such an offer from the government. However, Adviser to the PM Rana Sanaullah had earlier stated that the top judge might agree to an extension if it applied to all the judges.

The opposition is resisting the package with all its might and is trying to ensure that the package is not tabled in the parliament, claiming the extension of CJP Isa’s tenure will specifically benefit the government. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Roof Hasan has even accused the CJP of acting as a “facilitator” for the government and the powerful circles.

The opposition parties have expressed apprehensions regarding ‘judicial bias’ and said the proposed amendments would turn the judiciary’s behaviour in favour of the government.

How can govt make the package see daylight

The ruling coalition needs 224 votes to achieve a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly (NA) and 64 votes in the Senate. However, the government has failed to achieve the magic numbers in both the houses, falling short by eight and five votes, respectively.

After this failure, the government will likely table the package during the next NA session; it was originally supposed to be tabled on 15th September.

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