Federal Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif in his speech in the National Assembly said that there is no policy on constitutional changes and as MPs our first duty is to legislate. He said he would go to the House after full agreement on the constitutional amendment. “In 63A, it was newly specified that a vote should be taken, but not counted, if the proposal concerns the Constitutional Court. It is also part of the Charter of Democracy (COD) and is also practiced in many democratic countries,” he said. He said it did not mean that Parliament would overstep. Khawaja Asif said that a body would be formed for a specific case to deal with constitutional matters. He said people have been waiting for decades to get justice from the apex court while 2.7 million cases are pending in higher courts. “The current constitutional amendment is an effort to reduce the burden on the courts and bears no political interest. This effort is intended to make life easier for the common man,” he added. Khawaja Asif said that after the judicial reform movement, the process of appointment of judges was decided, at that time a senior judge was contacted by the judiciary, the role of parliament is a ‘stamp’. He asked the opposition to identify any clause that protects the interests of the ruling coalition. “I don’t think any person or organization disagrees with these things, we will try to return the constitution in a form that is compatible with the COD,” he stressed. Tarrar says the proposals include taking action against judges for not deciding cases on time Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) should not order sugar rates and installation of electricity poles and should not say which party should run (country) and say who will be the party chief. According to him, the judge should be prosecuted for not deciding the case within the specified period, which is part of the “constitutional package”. “If the lawyers reject the constitutional package, I will be responsible,” he said. Speaking in the National Assembly, Azam Nazir Tarar said that how could anyone forget the references of Justice Qazi Faiz Isa and Shaukat Siddiqui. “We want a bench to be formed that will include troops from all provinces. If it is a government bill, it should first be consulted in government circles, then the bill is submitted to the cabinet after approval by the cabinet, then the proposals are discussed in the CCLC committee, all unions are represented in the CCLC, he said.
