Islamabad, April 01: A Pakistani parliamentary panel on Wednesday finalised a landmark constitutional reforms package, which includes proposals aimed at stripping the President of his sweeping powers, after political parties overcame their differences on several contentious issues.
The 26-member parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms signed a report containing its recommendations for amendments after ruling Pakistan People’s Party, its allies and opposition parties achieved consensus on issues like procedure for appointing judges and renaming of the North West Frontier Province.
The PPP-led government suffered embarrassment last week when opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif stymied its plans to introduce the reforms package in Parliament on March 26 by declaring that his party was opposed to several recommendations made by the parliamentary committee.
After deliberations earlier on Wednesday, the members of the parliamentary panel achieved consensus on renaming NWFP as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.
The committee also reached a compromise on the procedure for appointing judges after addressing the concerns of the PML-N.
After resolving all outstanding issues, the members of the committee signed the report in a ceremony at the parliament building shortly before 11 pm.
The draft reforms package contains wide-ranging amendments aimed at stripping the President of sweeping powers, including the powers to appoint the three service chiefs and dissolve the Parliament.
One-fourth of the Constitution’s articles are likely to be amended by the package.
The parliamentary committee has suggested over 100 amendments to 70 articles of the constitution. However, several political parties, including the PML-Q, included notes of dissent in the parliamentary committee’s report.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan, a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari, told reporters outside Parliament that the parliamentary committee had accomplished a “technical and difficult” task by finalising the constitutional reforms.
“The package includes some 100 proposed amendments that were unanimously accepted and signed by all parliamentary and political forces,” Awan said.
The package will now be sent to parliament and the President would address a joint sitting of the Senate and National Assemblies before they took up the proposed amendments, he said.
The proposed amendments will restore the constitution of 1973 and the government does not expect any hitches in the passage of the changes as they were unanimously approved, Awan said.
The package, referred to as the “18th constitutional amendment”, is mainly aimed at removing changes made to the Constitution by two former military rulers, late Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf. The parliamentary committee has also suggested major changes in the constitution to give Pakistan’s four provinces more administrative, financial and political autonomy.
-PTI