ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s ruling alliance is gearing up to introduce sweeping changes to 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, with new clauses set to be tabled in the National Assembly within days.
What started as a 59-clause draft is now ballooning into 62-clause power document, as both the government and opposition finalized their respective lists of proposed revisions, setting the stage for a new political showdown in Parliament.
In one of the most notable tweaks, the term “Chief Justice” will officially be replaced with “Chief Justice of Pakistan”, a aims to eliminate legal ambiguity but sparked speculation about deeper institutional implications.
Changes to Article 6 of the Constitution
The most charged changes focuses on Article 6 of Constitution, the clause that defines high treason. Currently, Article 6(1) declares that anyone who abrogates, subverts, suspends, or holds the Constitution in abeyance is guilty of treason.
Clause 6(2) punishes aiders and abettors, while Clause 6(2A) bars any court from validating such actions.
Under proposed amendment, the government planned to reinforced that no act of treason under subclauses (1) or (2) can ever be validated by any court, including the Federal Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, or High Courts. Legal analysts are already calling this a “fortification of constitutional supremacy”, and a direct message to those who have historically attempted to derail democracy through force.
Sources confirm that latest batch of amendments will soon land before federal cabinet for final approval. Once cleared, the updated bill will be presented in the National Assembly, before being sent back to the Senate for reconsideration. The opposition is not sitting idle. It forwarded 11 proposed amendments of its own, which government sources say are currently being “thoroughly reviewed.”
