Islamabad, Oct. 21 (EFE).- Pakistan’s parliament early Monday passed a constitutional amendment bill that caps the tenure of the country’s top judge at three years among other key changes in the judicial system.
The government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was able to prove a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament with the votes of some defected lawmakers from the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) who voted in favor.
The PTI boycotted the voting process calling the amendments “unconstitutional” and an attempt to control the judiciary.
The National Assembly (NA), or lower house of the parliament, approved the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2024 in a process that lasted till 5:30 am on Monday after a long session of more than five hours.
The Senate, or upper house of 104 members, had already passed it Sunday evening with 65 votes in favor and four against it.
The government needed 224 votes to pass the amendment bill in the 336-member chamber, which it secured wit ease as 225 members voted in favor of the amendment bill during clause-by-clause approval.
In the live telecast session, 12 members from PTI voted against the amendments. However, later they boycotted the meeting and walked out of the House.
Following the passing of the bill by both houses, Sharif has sent the bill to the resident for approval, his office said.
The approved changes in the constitution will become effective after the president signs the bill into law.
According to the proposed legislation, a 12-member parliamentary committee will appoint the chief justice from a panel of the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court for a period of three years.
The top judge will retire upon reaching the age of 65 years.
The top court’s judges will also be appointed by a Judicial Commission of Pakistan led by the chief justice and three senior judges, which will also comprise two members each from the National Assembly and Senate, federal law minister, the attorney general of Pakistan, and a nominee of the Pakistan Bar Council having no less than 15 years of practice in the Supreme Court.
The commission will also monitor judges’ performance and report any concerns to the Supreme Judicial Council.
Sharif’s government said that the “reforms” will help stop the courts from issuing rulings that interfere in the affairs of the parliament.
“The elected prime ministers of the country used to be sent home (by courts), this will not happen now,” Sharif said after the bill was passed at NA, adding “today it has been proved that Parliament is supreme.”
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan criticized the bill, saying it would make the judiciary “subservient” for all times to come.
“These amendments are akin to suffocating a free judiciary. They do not represent the people of Pakistan,” PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan, the leader of the opposition in the NA, said during the session.
“A government formed through rigging cannot amend the constitution,” he added.
The amendments can be challenged in the Supreme Court, as per law. EFE
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