Constitutional amendments not possible without Fazlur Rehman's support, says Bilawal

Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has stated that passing constitutional amendments without taking JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman into confidence is impossible.

In an exclusive conversation with ARY News, Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto, said that JUI-F is also preparing its own constitutional amendments draft.

“Our effort is to create consensus, and it is important to engage with Maulana Fazlur Rehman and if he agrees, it won’t take more than a month or two to proceed.”

Bilawal Bhutto said that in order to bring Maulana Fazlur Rehman on board, we will have to incorporate his suggestions.

He mentioned that during the first meeting with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he had many concerns, and 20 to 25 percent of my party’s concerns were also addressed by the government.

“Obviously, if we accept the government’s points, they will also have to accept ours.”

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Bilawal Bhutto added that the PPP also desires to present its own draft for the constitutional amendments. We want PTI’s input on the reforms as well, he added.

The PPP chairman said that in their draft, there was no point regarding the age of judges, while the government’s proposed draft included a point related to judges’ age.

The government’s suggestion regarding the Supreme Court was to set the age limit for judges at 67 and the tenure at 3 years, while JUI’s proposal was to keep the age limit for judges at 65, the PPP chief said.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari mentioned that JUI’s proposal was unique in suggesting the formation of a separate committee for the appointment of judges, which would include parliamentary members, judges, and members of the bar.

He added that we had also agreed with JUI’s proposal. We believed that the government and Maulana Fazlur Rehman were on board.