ISLAMABAD: The government has convened sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate on October 17 to seek approval for the proposed 26th constitutional amendment from both houses of Parliament.
A summary has been sent to the Prime Minister Office by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to summon the session of both houses of Parliament.
Following the president’s approval, the National Assembly session will begin at 4pm, while the Senate session will commence at 3pm.
Meanwhile, the final round of consultations among political parties regarding the 26th constitutional amendment has started, and an important meeting of the Parliamentary Special Committee has been scheduled for 4pm tomorrow evening.
Committee Chairman Syed Khurshid Shah will chair the Parliamentary Special Committee meeting as it prepares the draft related to the 26th constitutional amendment and discuss the constitutional drafts of other political parties.
Members of the National Assembly and the Senate who are currently abroad, specifically from the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, have been directed to return to Pakistan to ensure their participation in the Parliamentary proceedings.
Earlier, lawyers from across the country opposed the proposed constitutional amendment, threatening to launch a nationwide movement against the government move that seeks to establish a “Federal Constitutional Court” parallel to the Supreme Court, among other changes.
The “All-Pakistan Lawyers Convention, organized by the Karachi Bar Association, was held at the City Courts to protest against the proposed Federal Constitutional Court and other constitutional amendments.
The convention was attended by representatives from the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association and Lahore and Balochistan High Court Bars, including prominent lawyers such as former Supreme Court Bar President Munir A Malik, Hamid Khan and Abid Zuberi. However, no representative of the Sindh High Court Bar Association attended the convension.
Peshawar High Court Bar President Fida Gul, lawyer leader Ali Ahmad Kurd, Balochistan High Court Bar President Afzal, Lahore High Court Bar President Asad Manzoor Butt, Islamabad High Court Bar President Azad State, Sindh Bar Council Vice Chairman Kashif Hanif, and Balochistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Rahab Bilidi also attended the convention
The participants declared the proposed constitutional amendments unconstitutional and illegal, threatening to initiate a nationwide lawyers’ movement if the government proceeded with the amendments.
Peshawar High Court Bar President Fida Gul said that a similar convention was held in Peshawar, where lawyers expressed their commitment to blocking any form of amendments.