President Asif Ali Zardari. Photo: PID
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday signed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law, following its approval by both houses of parliament. With the President’s assent, the bill has now formally become part of the Constitution of Pakistan, a presidential news release said.
The assent came hours after the Senate approved the bill for the amendment after voting on it for a second time amid the opposition’s protest. The Senate revised the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2025, earlier passed by the National Assembly, by omitting five clauses and relisting and amending three out of a total of 59 before its adoption.
Announcing the result, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani said 64 votes had been cast in favour of the bill and four against it. “So the motion is carried by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Senate, and consequently, the bill stands passed.”
The bill, presented by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, was carried through a two-way voting process by division and clause by clause.
The revisions included the removal of clauses 4, 19, 22, 51, and 55, while clause 53 and its subclauses were relisted and amended as part of the upper house’s effort to reshape the legislation.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Syed Ali Zafar and Jamait Ulamae-Islam Fazl (JUI-F ‘s) Kamran Murtaza opposed the bill, arguing that two defecting members of their parties had already announced resignations and were therefore not eligible to cast their votes.
Responding to opposition members, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar acknowledged the legal expertise of the opposing senators but emphasised that the interpretation of Article 63-A must remain confined to the Constitution.
He clarified that party references against members are permissible only in three cases: voting against party direction in the election of the PM or CM, a vote of no confidence, or on the budget/finance bill or a constitutional amendment.
The law minister clarified that under the Constitution, a party head may issue a declaration against a member, which is then forwarded by the presiding officer to the Election Commission for a hearing, with the right of appeal lying directly before the Supreme Court. He stressed that no member stands disqualified merely because of disagreement with a vote, cautioning that constitutional provisions must not be twisted for political point scoring.
The minister clarified that the declaration, hearing, and final decision under Article 63 A rest with the Election Commission, and until the process is completed, the member legally continues to remain part of the House. The minister reiterated that constitutional obligations must be upheld in letter and spirit, warning that parliamentary traditions should not be undermined through selective interpretations.
Leader of the House Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar informed the Senate that the amendments returned by the National Assembly to the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill represented “corrections and clarifications”.
Addressing objections, he acknowledged Senator Ali Zafar’s legal expertise but emphasized that political and constitutional history must be considered in full, pointing out that those now raising procedural concerns had previously “set aside rules in minutes” during a no confidence vote, adding that “no wrong can make a right.”
Dar noted that seven of the eight returned amendments were technical, while one major change strengthened Article 6 to bar any court including the proposed Federal Constitutional Court, Supreme Court or High Courts from validating abrogation or subversion of the Constitution.
