PTI announces nationwide protest against proposed constitutional amendment

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced staging a countrywide protest on Friday against the proposed 26th constitutional package a day after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) reached consensus on the joint draft of the contentious judicial package.

“PTI political committee has decided to resist the constitutional amendments,” read a declaration issued by the opposition party on Wednesday.

The PTI’s core body has directed all regional and local organisations to hold peaceful protests against the government’s attempts to introduce the constitutional amendment.

The statement said the PTI would make all-out efforts to block the passage of proposed judicial in both houses of parliament.

The constitutional package, among other things, aims to set up a federal constitutional court and fix the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years.

Last month, the coalition government made a futile attempt to pass a ‘closely-guarded’ constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

However, the government failed to even table the amendments in parliament after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman refused to support the government’s judicial package, leaving the contentious amendments hanging in the balance.

Earlier today, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja backed JUI-F’s draft for the much-touted constitutional package.

Speaking on the Geo News‘ programme Capital Talk, Raja said: “The JUI-F’s draft is absolutely right.”

In its draft, the JUI-F proposed the establishment of a constitutional bench — instead of a constitutional court — in the Supreme Court to hear the constitutional matters. 

The PTI leader suggested that the constitutional bench should comprise five senior most judges of the top court.

Responding to a question, Raja said that they held meetings with different political parties, adding: “There may not be as much destruction as they [ruling coalition] want because of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.”

He said that Maulana’s draft about constitutional amendment was better.

Slamming the PML-N-led government, Raja said: “They [PML-N] want to constitute a new court to appoint CJP of their choice.”

He said: “We will try our best so that the constitution cannot be attacked.”

Referring to the pact signed between slain Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in 2006, Raja said: “None of their goals match with the Charter of Democracy.”

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.