If there is any attempt to usurp provincial rights, we will oppose 27th Constitutional Amendment: Fazl
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JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Friday that his party would oppose any proposed amendment that seeks to reduce the powers granted to the provinces under the 18th Amendment.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held consultations with ruling allies to secure support for the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment, with the government expected to table the bill in the Senate within days.
“The provinces have a constitutional right to an increased NFC (National Finance Commission) award, not a reduced one,” he said, warning that if provincial rights were stripped, the JUI-F would “strongly oppose it.”
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Fazl said his party had agreed on certain points in principle, but would only comment further once a draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment was presented.
Commenting on proposed changes to Article 243, he said the matter must be viewed in two ways: “If it is used to affect democracy, the Constitution or politics, we will not accept it. But if it is purely administrative, we will review it first and then decide.”
He added that nothing was being resolved at the moment because the country was relying too heavily on one institution. “Until we adopt collective thinking, nothing will be fixed,” he said, urging dialogue among parliament, its security committee, and all stakeholders to reach a consensus.
Referring to the 26th Amendment, the JUI-F chief said that during that process, parliament’s engagement had led to the government withdrawing 35 clauses from the draft. “We should not repeat practices that raise questions about parliament’s representation of the people,” he cautioned.
He stressed the need for “natural lawmaking” rather than hurried or self-serving legislation. “We make unusual laws that society rejects. We must avoid misusing our authority,” he said.
On the pace of the amendment process, Fazl noted that the 18th Amendment had been passed through a consensus-driven, months-long process. “When this [27th Amendment] comes forward, we will see how long it takes,” he said, adding that there was no current plan to meet PPP leaders to discuss the matter.
PPP draws red line
PPP, a major ally of the ruling PML-N-led government, on Thursday drew a red line against any change to the provinces’ share under the NFC while indicating conditional support for limited amendments to Article 243 governing federal control of the armed forces.
Announcing decisions of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) at Bilawal House late in the night, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said discussions on the government’s proposed constitutional changes would continue on Friday but stressed the PPP “can never compromise on the financial rights of the provinces”.
“The PPP rejects the proposal for constitutional protection of the provinces’ share,” he said, adding that the CEC had, however, authorised support for specific adjustments in Article 243.
“The government has proposed giving the Joint Chiefs a new designation, creating a new position for Strategic Command and a position of Field Marshal. Only this amendment the CEC has allowed me to support,” Bhutto-Zardari added.
On the question of establishing a constitutional court, the PPP remained non-committal, saying further internal deliberation was required before arriving at any decision.
