ISLAMABAD -UNS: A historic day for Pakistan following the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment in the Parliament on Monday. After a month-long political negotiations concluded early Monday morning as the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, also known as the Constitutional Package, became law following approval from both Senate and National Assembly.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that “today, it’s been decided that parliament reigns supreme,” he said, as 225 members, including coalition partners and independent lawmakers, voted in favour of the bill.
The bill, which was initially greenlit by the Senate with a two-thirds majority, was presented in the National Assembly during a late-night session that began at 11:36pm and extended well past midnight, finally passing at 5am.
Following the parliamentary procedures, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Radio Pakistan, sent his advice to President Asif Ali Zardari for his assent on the newly enacted law the Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2024.
The government required 224 votes to pass the bill. As voting commenced under the chairmanship of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, 225 members of the National Assembly supported the motion, while 12 members from the PTI and the Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed it.
The bill comprised 27 clauses. After the passage of the first clause, the PTI members walked out of the assembly.
The government secured 211 votes, with the JUI-F contributing eight votes and six coming from independent and PTI-backed candidates.
The PTI-backed independent members included Usman Ali, Aurangzeb Khichi, Mubarak Zeb, and Zahoor Qureshi, who voted in favour of the bill along with PML-Q’s Chaudhry Ilyas.
With no opposition members present during the session, the remaining clauses of the bill were passed smoothly without any resistance. This facilitated the swift approval of the amendments, reflecting the ruling coalition’s consolidated support in the absence of dissenting voices.
“I Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar wish to move the bill to amend the Constitution of Pakistan by the Constitution (26th Amendment) bill be passed,” the law minister said after the 27 clauses and the preamble of the bill were passed.
Following that, Speaker Sadiq directed, under assembly rules, that the bells be rung for five minutes to allow absent members to join the session. He stated that once the bells stopped ringing, all entrances to the lobbies would be locked, and assembly staff would be positioned at each entrance to prevent entry or exit until the voting concluded.
The speaker added that he would ask the members wishing to vote in favour of the motion to pass in single file through the entrances where a teller was posted to record their votes. He explained that upon reaching the teller’s desk, each member was to call out the division number allotted to them under the rules, and the teller would mark off the number on the division list while simultaneously calling the name of the member.
The bells rang at 4:52am, after which all lawmakers returned to the chamber. Following that, Speaker Sadiq announced that the bill was passed with the votes of 225 members.
“225 members cast their votes for ayes, 12 for nos. Consequently, the bill is passed by the assembly by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the assembly,” the speaker said.
Following the passage of the bill, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivered a speech and congratulated the parliament for the “historical achievement.”
“Today’s amendment, the 26th, is not just an amendment, but an example of national solidarity and consensus. A new sun will rise, emanating across the nation,” PM Shehbaz said.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued after the NA session, PM Shehbaz has signed the advice for President Asif Ali Zardari to ratify the 26th constitutional amendment, following its approval by Parliament.
The bill comprised legislation proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including the fixture of the chief justice’s term. A special parliamentary committee formed last month — which had the representation of all parties, including the PTI — had been discussing various proposals.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the NA during a session that started late Sunday night and continued until the early hours of Monday morning. At the outset, Tarar outlined the key features of the bill, which had already been approved by the Senate.
After a brief recess, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari delivered a speech that lasted more than 50 minutes. He expressed gratitude to JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for playing a crucial role in securing the passage of the bill.
