PM summons cabinet meeting on 27th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned a meeting of the federal cabinet at 10am today to decide on the approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, sources confirmed.

According to insiders, the prime minister will chair the meeting via video link from Baku. The government has reportedly accepted the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) proposals regarding the constitutional changes.

Sources say the federal cabinet is expected to approve the draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment during the session.

Meanwhile, the opposition has already rejected the draft. After a joint meeting, opposition parties in the Senate said that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the PPP, and their allied partners are “bulldozing legislation,” adding that the constitutional amendment draft is being kept hidden from them.

Earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari briefed the media following a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), saying the committee agreed on three key points of the proposed amendment.

Bilawal said the PPP will support amendments to Article 243 and favours the establishment of constitutional courts. He added that issues related to the Charter of Democracy must also be revisited.

Bilawal further stated that, under the NFC Award, provincial funds can increase but not be reduced. He stressed that the unfinished agenda of the Charter of Democracy must be discussed, and the party will see whether consensus can be developed on other clauses during the process of the 27th Amendment.