The government is set to table the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment in tomorrow’s National Assembly session after it sailed through the Senate kn Monday.
A notification from the NA Secretariat for the orders of the day for Tuesday’s session said Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar would table the bill.
Today’s NA session was adjourned after being marred by ruckus from the treasury and opposition benches during speeches from each side.
PPP MNA Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was disrupted by shouting from the opposition benches as he began to speak in the NA. Speaking on the immunity for the president, he said this was standard practice in many countries for the head of state.
Ashraf assailed the opposition, asking who was it to criticise the treasury benches when its ranks were filled with those who had violated the Constitution.
As he continued to speak, PTI lawmakers chanted slogans of “Go Zardari go” and “Long live Imran Khan” while terming the former prime minister as “Raja rental”.
The former premier said the opposition was only content when it was raising a hue and cry in the house, adding that treasury benches would react in a similar manner to any speaker from the other side.
Taking the floor after the PPP leader, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl MNA Aliya Kamran questioned the need for haste in the matter and said all stakeholders were not consulted and taken on board.
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi paid tribute to the army chief for “the respect God has granted us with in the world because of him and our martyrs”.
The minister said Pakistan would fight every terrorist till they abandon militancy, whether they were in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or any other corner of the world.
Earlier today, the government and its coalition partners secured a two-thirds majority in the Senate vote for the bill following the defection of two opposition members.
The bill, which had stirred controversy in the country for weeks, was presented in the Senate by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, while Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani presided over the proceedings.
Before the passage of the bill, opposition benches erupted in protest, chanting slogans against the government and its coalition partners. Lawmakers tore up copies of the bill and hurled them toward the Tarar’s table as he began to present it.
Most opposition members then staged a walkout, while a few stayed briefly to continue sloganeering before exiting the chamber — paving the way for the smooth passage of the bill.
A joint meeting of the Senate and the National Assembly’s law and justice standing committees — boycotted by the opposition — approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment bill with minor changes. Senate Standing Committee of Law and Justice Chairman Farooq H. Naek presented a report on those before the Upper House.
