Pakistan Senate passes Bill that may dilute powers of judiciary

Pakistan Senate on Sunday passed the controversial 26th Constitution Amendment Bill, capping Pakistan's chief justice tenure for three years, amid opposition from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party.

The upper house of the parliament voted 65-4 to approve the Bill with the required two-thirds majority. The government needed the support of 64 members. The Bill, approved by the cabinet earlier in the day with the consensus among the ruling coalition partners, was presented in the senate by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The Bill included 22 clauses of amendments. The upper house passed the Bill clause-wise and all clauses got the support of 65 senators.

The magic number was achieved after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's five senators and two lawmakers of Balochistan National Party-Mengal voted in favour of the Bill. The BNP-M favoured the Amendment despite, violating the party line to abstain during the process.

The Bill provides for setting up a 12-member commission to appoint the chief justice who will be appointed for three years. The Bill will now go to the National Assembly, where it needs a two-thirds majority to clear the hurdle. Finally, it should receive the nod of the president to become part of the constitution.

Earlier in the day, the cabinet approved the proposed draft of the controversial Bill during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after seeking consensus from the coalition partners, his office said.

If passed, the government could block Justice Masoor Ali Shah from succeeding the current Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa. Isa is set to retire on October 25 after reaching superannuation, which is 65 years. The original idea of extending the retirement age of judges from 65 to 68 is also not part of the amendment. To succeed, the Bill should be passed before the October 25 deadline to complete the formalities for setting up the special panel. To pass the amendment, the coalition needs 224 votes in the 336-member National Assembly.