ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The federal cabinet on Snday approved the draft of 26th constitutional amendment which was agreed to by the PPP and the JUI-F.
The cabinet met here in the chamber of the prime minister in the parliament with Premier Shehbaz Sharif in the chair and approved the draft.
According to the amended draft approved by the cabinet, a clause "A" has been added to the Article 9 of the constitution.
Earlier, Information Minister Atta Tarar told media informally that the government wanted to move on the amendment with consensus. In case of disagreement, there were other options available with the government, he said.
The government had issued a warning that it would approve the draft propsed by it if Maulana Fazalur Rehman could not get consensus on the changes the PTI and the JUI-F suggested.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said that the draft has been finalized in the parliamentary committee and Maulana Fazlur Rehman's draft has been made a part of it.
It may be recalled that a special meeting of the federal cabinet was held on Saturday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in which the constitutional amendment bill was likely to be approved. All the ministers were present in the Prime Minister's chamber, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, after a long meeting with Maulana Fazl, told the media the a consensus has been reached.
However, the draft constitutional amendment could not be finalised.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO MEET AT 6
Meanwhile, the National Assembly will meet at 6 pm to pass the proposed amendment. The assembly session was held till late night on Saturday but the house could not get the draft approved and it was adjourned till 6 pm on Sunday.
The coalition government is determined to pass 26th constitutional amendment bill as it has convened sessions of both houses – Senate and National Assembly – on Sunday (today).
Saturday’s session took place under NA Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah.
SENATE SESSION
The Senate session will be held at 3pm on Sunday (today). Earlier, it started after the delay of several hours while the political huddles were in full swing in Islamabad to bring consensus on the constitutional amendment.
Read more: Major issues resolved, positive message received from PTI founder: Fazl
The Senate and the National Assembly sessions were rescheduled a couple of times.
It is anticipated that the constitutional amendments will be introduced for approval in both houses.
Saturday was a hectic day from political perspective as the two sides - ruling coalition and opposition parties - held meetings to forge consensus on the significant issue.
Reade more: Govt trying to bring consensus on constitutional amendment, says Atta Tarar