ISLAMABAD – Pakistani ruling alliance is introducing a major constitutional amendment in Parliament today with proposed change aims to revise retirement age and appointment procedures for judges and other officials.
Sharif led government is confident it will secure the necessary majority in both houses to pass the amendment. Separate sessions of the National Assembly and Senate have been arranged for Saturday to discuss this key constitutional change. Although the official agenda for the National Assembly session does not list the amendment, such items are often added to the agenda as supplementary matters.
The proposed amendment aims to increase retirement age for all government employees to 68 years and introduce a fixed three-year term for Chief Justices, appointed based on seniority. This change would extend the tenure of the current Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, and set a precedent for future appointments.
Members of the ruling coalition parties, including PML-N, PPP, MQM, and others, have been instructed to stay in Islanabad today to ensure their availability for the vote on this legislation.
Despite tall claims from government members, it is still unclear if the ruling coalition has sufficient votes to pass the amendment, which requires a two-thirds majority—about 224 votes out of 336 members in the National Assembly.
Sources claimed that the government seems to be short by approximately a dozen votes in both houses but PML-N government remains hopeful of getting necessary support and that the vote could be postponed to Sunday if needed.
Even with JUI-F’s potential support, the government would still need an additional four to five votes in the National Assembly. Constitutional amendments are decided through an open ballot, which means that members cannot hide their votes if they disagree with their party’s stance.
An official from the National Assembly Secretariat noted that although the government appears to lack the needed votes, there is a possibility that the amendment could be passed through informal negotiations.
“No extension for me,” says Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa amid speculations
