PTI Announces Countrywide Protest Against Proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment Package
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has announced countrywide protests on Friday in opposition to the government’s proposed 26th constitutional amendment package as opposition parties – especially PTI – reacted the offer of the PPP and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl agree on the controversial judicial reforms coming a day after the announcement.
A statement by the party, the political committee of PTI expressed stiff opposition to proposed constitutional amendments and vowed to resist the package. “The PTI political committee has decided to resist the constitutional amendments,” the statement read while calling upon regional and local organisations of the party to hold peaceful demonstrations across the country. The protests are designed to block passage of the constitutional package that PTI accuses undermines the independence of the judiciary.
Critical Provisions of the Proposed Amendments
The 26th constitutional package consists of a number of fundamental reforms aimed at changing the Pakistani judiciary. Several of these critical reforms are based on the establishment of a federal constitutional court and a three-year tenure limit for the CJP. These proposals have provoked enormous controversy over them as if the amendments were presented in some form of effort by the ruling coalition to inject its influence into the judiciary.
The government tried last month to pass the constitutional package in parliament but failed to garner support for it. Speculation regarding a possible extension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa’s tenure has further fueled this political fire. The situation has complicated when Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a JUI-F leader, refused to back the government’s judicial package and its advancement on the bill stalled.
PTI’s Opposition and Protest
PTI has emerged as one of the powerful opposition parties to the altered bills, and the party is now getting its grassroots unite for street protests against an attack on Pakistan’s constitution and judiciary that the party feels they are being subjected to. PTI has threatened to do everything it can do to defeat the bill in both houses of parliament.
PTI’s Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has welcomed JUI-F’s draft of the judicial package but has criticized the efforts of the ruling coalition. Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Raja said: “The JUI-F’s draft is absolutely right.” He was talking about the proposition by the party to create a constitutional bench in the Supreme Court instead of a separate constitutional court. The stance that the PTI has now adopted is in support of JUI-F’s proposal whereby a five-member bench of the Supreme Court be formed out of five senior-most judges and they deal with constitutional matters.
Terming the move as an attempt by the PML-N government to put pressure on the judiciary, Raja said the new court it was establishing could install a Chief Justice favorable to its interests. “The proposed amendments are against the Charter of Democracy signed between the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in 2006,” he added.
“We will try our best so that constitution cannot be attacked,” emphasized Raja, while the concern is as to how far PTI has been determined that judicial independence shouldn’t be undermined.
Provincial Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also spoke strongly against the amendments, questioning their legitimacy as well as the timing. He said that this constitutional package was especially prepared for PTI. “On what grounds is this constitutional amendment being presented?”, he asked, questioning the intent behind it.
This is exactly what Gandapur argued while opposing the formation of a new constitutional court, which was going to be higher in jurisdiction than the Supreme Court. “The amendments are being made against us (PTI),” he said, alleging that the government is using amendments to the constitution as a political weapon to corner the opposition.
A Divisive Moment in Pakistani Politics
The proposed 26th constitutional amendment has become a flashpoint in Pakistani politics; PTI is taking the lead in this campaign against the government’s reforms. The party will stage nationwide protests on Friday, which will garner large crowds, indicating that the people at large are unwilling to allow the package of constitutional changes to sail through.
As political parties argue in regard to the merit and effects of the proposed amendments, it is still unclear what lies in wait for the future of Pakistan’s judiciary. PTI and other opposing forces seem to become even more rigorous in their pressures for the government to fight off its difficult battle in reshaping the country’s legal landscape.
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