PM summons cabinet meeting to approve constitutional package's draft

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif summoned a federal cabinet meeting to consider a draft of a constitutional package likely to be tabled in parliament on Sunday, ARY News reported.

According to details, the federal cabinet in its one-point agenda will consider the constitutional amendments in the meeting scheduled for 11 am on Sunday.

After passage by the federal cabinet, the constitutional amendments would be presented before the Senate and the National Assembly.

Fixing the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) tenure for three years among other items of the constitutional package to be presented before the Senate and the National Assembly on Sunday.

Earlier, the federal government claimed to have secured two-third majority required to make constitutional amendments.

Sources familiar with the development said Senators and MNAs of the treasury benches have been asked to remain in Islamabad as it is planning to devise a strategy for constitutional amendments.

The sources added MQM-P also summoned its two MNAs to Islamabad from Karachi.

On Thursday, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) decided not to support the government in upcoming constitutional amendments related to the judiciary of Pakistan.

Sources told ARY News that the JUI-F instructed its senators to refrain from voting in the senate without explicit permission from the leadership.

Sources revealed that the party’s parliamentary leader, Senator Atta-ur-Rehman, issued a policy letter to fellow senators, including Senator Kamran Murtaza, Maulana Abdul Wasey, Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan, and Senator Ahmed Khan.

The letter stated that no senator should vote on any constitutional amendments without receiving written consent from the party leadership.

The JUI-F leadership warned that any senator who participates in unauthorized voting risks disqualification.