Proposed constitutional package tantamount to imposing martial law: PTI’s Omar Ayub

• Omar praises Fazl for rejecting proposed constitutional package.
• Vows opposition to strongly resist if “amendments tabled again”.
• Former president Arif Alvi terms proposed amendments “burial bill”.

ISLAMABAD: As the coalition government and the opposition intensified their parliamentary battle for the contentious judicial package, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan claimed on Thursday that “martial law would have been imposed in the country had the constitutional amendment bill been passed”. 

The government pushed the proposed constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who is set to retire in October this year, following the PTI’s request last month for the early issuance of a notification regarding the appointment of the next top judge.

“[Federal Law Minister] Azam Nazeer Tarar and [PPP Chairman] Bilawal Bhutto know nothing about the draft amendments,” claimed Ayub speaking to journalists outside the parliament.

Throwing shade at the treasury benches, the opposition leader alleged that the government officials and their allies’ role in the parliament’s special committee was “negative”.

He went on to say that “these people are playing the role of puppets” and alleged the treasury benches were willing to give away all authority to “someone else”.

Praising the “positive role” of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief in the ongoing government-opposition tussle, he said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman gave a clear statement that the draft amendments were “unacceptable” for the opposition.

The PTI and JUI-F, which have been arch-rivals traditionally, found common ground after the February 8 general elections as they both expressed mutual concerns over the alleged interference and manipulation during the polls.

Ayub said that the opposition lawmakers would strongly resist in the parliament if “this genre of amendments are tabled, again”.

He said that it would be tantamount to imposing martial law in the country if the said bill was passed.

The ruling coalition left no stone unturned to woo Fazl, with leaderships of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) holding a flurry of meetings with the cleric, but to no avail.

Despite claims of securing the “magic number” needed to push the bill through, the government failed to table the amendments in parliament and postponed its move indefinitely — a development confirmed by PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui.

To pass the constitutional amendments, the government is short of 13 votes in the National Assembly (NA) and nine in the Senate.

The opposition leader also questioned the government for not using the Supreme Court’s constitutional benches to deal with the constitutional issues.

Expressing concerns over the establishment of a separate constitutional court, Ayub said: “The said court’s judge would be appointed by President Asif Ali Zardari and formulate laws of own choice,” adding that any kind of “super court” would be unacceptable.

He claimed that the government was planning to approve “57 constitutional amendments, including Article 8, 199 and 200 [of the Constitution]”.

The opposition lawmakers were just silent spectators in the special committee’s meeting as the draft of the proposed constitutional modifications was not available there, he added. The government parliamentarians have gotten no answers to the opposition’s queries in the meeting.

Elaborating on the former ruling party’s future course of action regarding its anti-government movement, the opposition leader announced that the PTI would organise its Lahore power show on September 21 (Saturday) at any cost.

“PTI founder Imran Khan gives a message to the party workers to finalise preparations for the Lahore jalse as it is going to be held come what may,” he added.

PTI, JI discuss constitutional amendments

Alongside giving a tough time to the coalition government over the proposed constitutional package, the Imran-founded party also approached the Jamaat-e-Islami to take the latter into the loop over its ongoing parliamentary battle against judiciary-centric legislation.

A PTI delegation headed by former president Dr Arif Alvi met JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman today and discussed the proposed constitutional amendments at Mansoora — the JI headquarters in Lahore.

Hafiz Naeem, addressing a press conference alongside Alvi and other JI leaders after the meeting, said that they discussed the 26th constitutional amendment bill and his party rejected the entire legislative process.

The JI emir said that every party should be given space to continue its political activities, otherwise, there would be a question mark over the existence of democracy in the country. He alleged that the ruling coalition parties came into power based on “Form 47” — a reference to the alleged manipulation in the February 8 elections results. 

Alvi, speaking at the press conference, termed the constitutional amendment bill a “burial bill” by a government which has no roots in the public.