Mon Oct 21 05:30:00 UTC 2024: **Summary of News Article (October 20, 2024)**
– **Cabinet Meeting**: The Pakistani cabinet is set to meet on October 20, 2024, to discuss and approve the draft of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, aimed at changing the powers of the judiciary.
– **Amendment Objectives**: Reports suggest the amendment seeks to dilute judicial independence by raising the retirement age for judges and establishing fixed tenures for Chief Justices.
– **Government Support**: Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claims the government now has the necessary majority in both the Senate and National Assembly to pass the amendment.
– **Political Consensus**: Maulana Fazlur Rehman of JUI-F and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of the PPP express support for the amendment, contingent on further deliberation with other political parties, including PTI.
– **Changes in Proposal**: The proposal to create a separate constitutional court has been dropped in favor of a special constitutional bench within the Supreme Court. Plans to extend judges’ retirement age to 68 are also not included.
– **Legislative Process**: To become law, the amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both parliamentary houses, needing 224 votes in the National Assembly and 64 in the Senate.
– **Opposition**: The PTI party, associated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has decided to boycott the parliamentary sessions regarding the amendment and is seeking to delay the vote until after Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s retirement on October 25. Claims of coercion and intimidation of opposition lawmakers have surfaced but were denied by government officials.
– **Next Steps**: The legislative timetable includes separate sessions for the National Assembly and Senate following the cabinet’s discussion. The government aims to achieve a consensus while countering allegations of forced support from opposition members.
First Piper 