ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Thursday took up for consideration the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2024, seeking to introduce a minimum educational qualification for holders of key constitutional and executive offices, but decided to seek views from all provinces before proceeding further.
The meeting, held at Parliament House, was chaired by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek and attended by Senators Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Shahadat Awan and Samina Mumtaz Zehri along with the secretary Ministry of Law and Justice and other senior officials.
The bill, introduced in the Senate on September 9, 2024, by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, proposes an amendment to Article 62 of the Constitution to require that the president, prime minister, governors, chief ministers, chairman and deputy chairman Senate, speaker and deputy speaker National Assembly, federal ministers, ministers of state and provincial ministers must possess at least a graduate-level qualification.
Briefing the committee, Senator Zehri said the proposed amendment envisaged a bachelor’s degree in any discipline or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Higher Education Commission or under any prevailing law.
Senate body seeks provincial input on educational criteria for key office holders
Senator Naek, however, observed that these offices are filled either through direct public elections or selections made by elected representatives, as provided under the Constitution. He said the Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and cautioned that imposing additional eligibility criteria should not infringe upon those rights.
Referring to past precedents, he recalled that a similar educational requirement introduced in the past had been struck down by the Supreme Court.
He said although the proposal carried a positive intent, it could impinge upon the basic structure of the Constitution.
Senator Naek suggested that if such conditions were deemed necessary, they might be more appropriately addressed through the Rules of Business rather than through a constitutional amendment.
After detailed deliberations, the committee unanimously decided to seek input from all provinces before taking a final view on the bill.
Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik told the committee that further progress would be made in line with its decision once feedback from the provinces was received.
The committee concluded that since the matter involved national policy, broad-based consultation with all stakeholders was essential to evolve a balanced and inclusive approach. The bill will be reviewed again after the provincial views are obtained.
Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025
