As the coalition government determined to pass a judiciary-centric constitutional package, Pakistan People\u2019s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari warned of potential confrontation if the proposed amendments did not pass before October 25 \u2014 the retirement date of the incumbent chief justice. Last month, the coalition government made a futile attempt to pass a \u2018closely-guarded\u2019 constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa. However, the government failed to even table the amendments in parliament after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman refused to support the government’s judicial package, leaving the contentious amendments hanging in the balance. Ostensibly, the government was short of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate as the said legislation requires a two-thirds majority in both houses. In an informal conversation with journalists today, Bilawal \u2014 who is leading from the front in pushing the package \u2014 warned that if constitutional amendments were not passed before October 25, the country might face a “face-off”-like situation. \u201cMatter will be resolved peacefully, if the amendment passed before October 25 [\u2026] Otherwise, the situation would lead to confrontation,\u201d he said, adding that amendments would be passed even after October 25 but the situation might turn tense. He vowed that the PPP will pursue the matter of constitutional court till its completion \u2014 a goal he says set in the Charter of Democracy (COD) by slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the PPP\u2019s manifesto. He was of the view that the 18th Amendment had restored the supremacy of the Constitution of Pakistan and put an end to dictatorship in the country. \u201cWhy a discussion is not being held on the timing of what the judiciary did,\u201d he said, asking why the timing of the stay order on reserved seats verdict was not being questioned. Bilawal was referring to Supreme Court\u2019s May 6 judgment, suspending the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as well as the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) denying the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) the reserved seats for women and minorities and giving it to other political parties. Later, the election watchdog suspended the victory notification of the 77 candidates elected on reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies. The ruling dealt a major blow to the ruling coalition as it lost two-thirds majority in parliament. \u201cWhy no one questioned the timing of top court\u2019s Sept 14 clarification on the day when parliament\u2019s session was scheduled,\u201d the PPP Chairman questioned. In response to a question, Bilawal said the tenure of constitutional court\u2019s head would be three years, adding that the Supreme Court\u2019s past history justifies the establishment of the constitutional court. He regretted the backlog of cases in the apex court, noting that Karachi unrest case, started in 2011, was still lying pending. A day earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that so far, his party had agreed to the government\u2019s proposal for the formation of a federal constitutional court. Bilawal said his struggle for the constitutional amendment was not for the current chief justice, Qazi Faez Isa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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