ISLAMABAD – In a high-voltage session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar unveiled the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, sparking fierce reactions from opposition lawmakers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari were present in the packed House.
As Tarar began reading out the clauses, opposition members gathered near the speaker’s dais in protest, echoing the intense resistance the bill faced in the Senate on Monday. With two-thirds approval required in the 336-member Assembly, the ruling coalition appears confident of success, commanding a combined strength of 234 seats, including PML-N (125), PPP (74), MQM-P (22), PML-Q (5), Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (4), and one seat each for PML-Zia, BAP, and NPP, while the opposition holds 103 seats.
After greeting the Prime Minister and Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed the House, but his speech was constantly disrupted by PTI lawmakers waving photos of Imran Khan and tearing copies of the bill.
Bilawal opened with a strong condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks, urging all parties to unite on national security. Political and ideological differences can exist,” he said, “but we must all confront terrorism together.”
Turning to the 27th Amendment, he stressed that the PPP has consistently sought consensus in constitutional reforms, referencing the 18th Amendment and the 1973 Constitution. He noted that both PTI and JUI-F had participated in forming the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench, and that their earlier concerns had been addressed. “This amendment fulfills the unfulfilled promises of the Charter of Democracy,” Bilawal declared. “It establishes constitutional courts and grants formal protection to the rank of field marshal, following the Prime Minister’s decision after Pakistan’s success in the May conflict with India.”
He added that a legislature’s strength lies in consensus, not just numbers, acknowledging that unlike past amendments, this bill does not yet enjoy unanimous support. Bilawal also emphasized that the government consulted defence authorities, the judiciary, and legal experts before proposing the changes, framing it as a carefully deliberated reform.
Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar criticized opposition members for ignoring political events prior to 2022, when Imran Khan was ousted as Prime Minister.
He mocked the selective quoting of Habib Jalib’s famous verse by opposition lawmakers, calling out their hypocrisy for ignoring lines exposing falsehood and intellectual deceit.
Tarar accused the PTI of double standards, noting that while they tolerated authoritarian moves in the past, they now object to Parliament following a legal and consultative process to pass constitutional amendments.
“This selective morality and double-standard politics — what exactly defines their approach?” he demanded, questioning why PTI did not protest when former deputy speaker Qasim Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in 2022.
