Islamabad: Pakistan’s coalition government on Monday once again did not introduce the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament. This was apparently due to lack of numerical strength required to get it passed. The details of the amendments still remain a mystery, as the government has not officially shared them with the media or discussed them publicly. Reports received so far suggest that the government is planning to increase the retirement age of judges and fix the tenure of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Bill will be presented in Parliament soon
Senator Irfan Siddiqui of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) told the media that the amendment bill would not be introduced in Parliament on Monday. Siddiqui told Geo News that the session of both the houses will be “adjourned” on Monday and “it will be called next time when we are ready in all aspects to introduce the constitutional amendment.” On whether the matter could be delayed for months, the PML-N senator said the bill is likely to be introduced within a week or two. The senator said, “Our wish was that this bill should be passed within two days.”
For this reason the government took steps back
The government was forced to postpone the move to introduce the amendment bill in Parliament after efforts to get the support of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman failed. The government needs 224 votes in the National Assembly and 64 in the Senate to pass the amendment. The strength of the alliance is 213 in the National Assembly and 52 in the Senate. With eight members of the National Assembly and five senators, the JUI-F is in a position to play a major role.