Constitutional amendment bill again 'delayed' as govt fails to appease Fazlur Rehman

ISLAMABAD: The constitutional amendment bill has been delayed once again, as the government has failed to appease Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Fazlur Rehman, ARY News reported citing sources within the government.

According to sources, the bill will be tabled after 10-12 days in the National Assembly as the ruling alliance has been unable to convince Fazlur Rehman to support the bill, which aims to establish a constitutional court and several other amendments.

Sources revealed that Fazlur Rehman has taken a strict stance, stating that such constitutional amendments cannot be rushed. The JUI chief has also sought time to reconsider the reformation of the Judicial Commission.

On the other side, the federal government has claimed that the bill will be passed without the votes of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members, sources added.

Sources further claimed that the bill had been under discussion for a long time, but Maulana Fazl has taken a U-turn over his decisions.

Its worth mentioning here that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) earlier advised the federal government to temporarily delay the clauses related to the judiciary in constitutional amendments.

A separate meeting between government and opposition delegations with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari was held after which the JUI-F leader stressed that his party had not yet received the draft of the proposed amendments in the constitution.

Read more: Fazlur Rehman becomes centre of attention as political leaders continue meeting him

Haidari emphasized that the government team had been urged to exercise patience and avoid hastily presenting the bill to Parliament.