Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarrar announced on Saturday that the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill will be presented in the Senate today. The decision was made during a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who joined the meeting via video link from Baku.
The law minister said that after detailed consultations, the key points agreed upon include the establishment of a separate federal constitutional court, in line with previous commitments made in the Charter of Democracy. Parliament will debate the proposal before making a final decision.
He added that the transfer of judges will now be handled by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. The bill proposes that the chief justices of both the high court from which a judge wishes to transfer and the high court to which the judge is being transferred will be included in the consultation process.
Tarrar also addressed issues related to Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which were affected by earlier court proceedings. The amendment will clarify that members whose six-year term was disrupted will still be considered active, allowing Senate elections to be held across the country at the same time.
The minister said that, following requests from smaller provinces like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the provincial cabinet threshold will be increased from 11 percent to 13 percent, while the number of advisers allowed will rise from five to seven. Amendments are also being proposed to Article 243 regarding the command and control of the armed forces. The bill includes provisions for the role of the field marshal and suggests that awards and ranks given to national heroes should be retained for life.
The proposed amendments have faced criticism from lawyers and political parties, who say they could reduce the powers granted to provinces under the 18th Amendment. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) supports changes to Article 243 but rejects any rollback of the NFC award or the 18th Amendment, while backing the creation of a constitutional court. The opposition PTI has called the amendments an “attack” on Parliament and opposed returning areas like education and population planning to the federal government. MQM-P has demanded that its proposals for stronger and autonomous local governments be included, while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) opposes any reduction in provincial powers. Tarrar added that passing the bill will require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament and that the committee will also review a previously pending bill from MQM-P proposing changes to Article 104A.
