Islamabad [Pakistan], October 21 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Senator Syed Ali Zafar during the Senate session, in which the 26th Amendment Bill was passed, slammed the government over control on the "Constitutional Bench," saying that the government could place its own judges in critical judicial positions, Ary News reported.
PTI's Zafar said that the Constitutional Bench would grant the government greater influence over the judges' selection process.
He said that with government control over the Constitutional Bench, the government now has the power to bypass the official process of electing a Chief Justice and can give preference to its judges.
He warned that in the coming days, the nation would witness the government stacking the bench with its chosen judges, compromising judicial independence, Ary News reported.
Zafar further asserted that the amendment should serve people but criticised parliamentarians that they hadn't read the bill, as per Ary News.
The 26th constitutional Amendment Bill that has been passed in the senate, with a two-thirds majority on Sunday had received push back from opposition, mainly from Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf which held various protests alleging that the bill would undermine the judiciary's powers.
Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the bill in the Senate which received 65 votes in its favour. Four members voted against the bill.
The bill has 27 clauses and amendments to various Articles of the constitutions have been proposed. The amendment suggested by Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has been incorporated. JUI-F earlier protested against the bill but was later convinced by the ruling government.
The bill will now be presented at the Pakistan National Assembly.
Earlier on Sunday, the political committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) declared that it will abstain from participating in the voting on constitutional amendments in both legislative chambers, according to ARY News.
The official statement indicates that the committee has also resolved to protest against PTI members in the National Assembly and Senate who take part in the voting process. The PTI Political Committee has asserted that the group currently in power lacks the moral, democratic, or constitutional legitimacy to amend the constitution.
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