President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met on Thursday to deliberate on proposed constitutional amendments, aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s parliamentary system. The meeting, attended by several political figures, focused on reaching a consensus on the amendments.
Following the meeting, Khursheed Shah, Chairman of the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendments, expressed optimism about achieving consensus among key political parties, including PML-N, JUI-F, and MQM. He stated that while progress had been made, full agreement would likely be reached within the next couple of days. Shah also pointed out that there were no significant hurdles in finalizing the amendment draft, which is designed to enhance the power and functionality of the parliament.
Shah criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not submitting its proposals during the committee discussions, despite repeated requests. He emphasized that PTI members Barrister Gohar Khan and Omar Ayub Khan lacked the mandate to engage fully in the negotiations. Addressing PTI’s concerns about the alleged abduction of its members, Shah assured that the issue had been forwarded to the National Assembly Speaker for serious consideration.
In parallel, Prime Minister Shehbaz hosted a luncheon at the Parliament House, bringing together senators from the government and coalition parties. During the luncheon, the proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment was discussed, and members were briefed by the Law Minister, Azam Nazir Tarar. The prime minister commended the successful organization of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Pakistan, crediting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for his key role in the event’s success.
Later, PML-N parliamentary leader Irfan Siddiqui announced that the constitutional amendment would be introduced in the Senate on Friday. He noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz had provided a comprehensive update on the discussions regarding the amendments.
On the sidelines of the SCO meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to advancing the organization’s development goals. He met SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and expressed Pakistan’s readiness to collaborate with member states to strengthen the organization. Additionally, Shehbaz met with Mongolia’s Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, where the two countries agreed to form a Joint Ministerial Commission to boost cooperation in trade, tourism, agriculture, and mining. They also discussed launching an inter-parliamentary union and declared 2025 as the “Year of Pakistan-Mongolia Friendship.”
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