Senate approves 27th Constitutional Amendment amid opposition protests

The Senate has completed the approval process by granting clause-by-clause approval to the new amendments included in the 27th Constitutional Amendment. During the clause-by-clause approval process, after the amendment was presented, the opposition, including PTI members, staged strong protests.

According to details, Law Minister Azam Tarar presented the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill during the Senate session chaired by Chairman Senate Yousuf Raza Gillani. During this, the opposition created a commotion in the house.

The bill was presented with further amendments to the already approved 27th Amendment. The Chairman of the Senate said that the 27th Constitutional Amendment had already been presented in the Senate before.

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It is worth noting that prior to the Senate, the National Assembly had approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill and its additional amendments with a two-thirds majority.

Under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the National Assembly approved amendments to 50 articles of the Constitution with a two-thirds majority. There were 234 votes in favor and 4 against the constitutional amendment.

During the approval of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Tarar presented six additional amendments to the 27th Constitutional Amendment approved by the Senate, which were approved.

What are the additional amendments?

• Article 6, clause 2A has been amended to include the Federal Constitutional Court along with the Supreme Court and High Courts.

• The office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan has been included in five other constitutional amendments, including Article 10.

Under the amendment:

• The Chief Justice of Pakistan will be the senior Chief Justice among the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

• The Chief Justice of Pakistan will have the authority to administer oaths to the President, Chief Election Commissioner, and Attorney General.

The 27th Constitutional Amendment will establish the Federal Constitutional Court. The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court will be appointed for a term of three years, and the retirement age of judges will be set at 68 years.