27th Constitutional Amendment tabled in Senate

ISLAMABAD: The 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill was tabled in the Senate on Saturday, ARY News reported.

The Senate session commenced at 01:10 p.m. here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, tabled the 27th Constitutional Amendment in the house.

Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani referred the bill to the joint committee of both Houses — the National Assembly and the Senate for detailed deliberation and discussion.

According to sources, the committee will deliberate on the proposed amendment, after which the legislation will be presented to the upper house on November 10.

The 27th Constitutional Amendment is expected to be tabled in the National Assembly on November 14 for debate.

For the amendment’s passage, the government will require 224 votes in the National Assembly.

Notably, the federal cabinet on Saturday approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

A brief session of the federal cabinet was held in Islamabad, chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif via video link from Baku, Azerbaijan, where he is on an official visit along with Chief of the Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan briefed the cabinet on the proposed amendment, while the session also reviewed the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) recommendations regarding the constitutional changes.

After considering the recommendations, the federal cabinet gave its formal approval to the 27th Amendment.

Creation of New Defence Post

The 27th Constitutional Amendment proposes the creation of a new post — Commander of Defence Forces — under an amendment to Article 243 of the Constitution.

The position would define the tenure and responsibilities aimed at ensuring greater coordination and unified command among Pakistan’s three armed forces.

Formation of Constitutional Court

According to official sources, the Constitutional Court will initially comprise seven judges with a retirement age of 68 years, three years higher than that of Supreme Court judges.
Out of these seven, five judges will be selected from the existing Supreme Court bench, while a few High Court judges are also under consideration for appointment.