The special committee meeting of Parliament ended in chaos, No results
The special committee meeting of Parliament ended in chaos without any results, with a decision to reconvene on October 17. A heated exchange of words took place between members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with tensions between Umar Ayub and Aimal Wali.
The meeting, chaired by Syed Khursheed Shah, was attended by federal ministers and key political figures including Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Raza Tanveer Hussain, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, PPP leaders Syed Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman, and Raja Pervez Ashraf. PTI chairman Barrister Gohar and other PTI members, such as Hamid Raza and Asad Qaiser, participated online. All parties presented their drafts for constitutional amendments.
During the meeting, PPP and PTI members exchanged harsh words when PTI proposed further consultation on the drafts. Raja Pervez Ashraf rejected the suggestion, stating that too much time had already been wasted and the amendment was for the benefit of 240 million citizens, not for any individual or specific party.
The Awami National Party (ANP) also presented its draft, suggesting removing the word “Khyber” from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s name. Other proposals included sharing natural gas and mineral oil management equally between the federal government and provinces, and limiting the Chief Justice’s term to three years.
Opposition leader Umar Ayub had a heated exchange with ANP’s Aimal Wali, who accused PTI members, except Barrister Gohar, of wasting time. Umar Ayub reacted strongly, questioning who Aimal Wali was to make such statements. The tension between the two disrupted the meeting, which ended without any conclusions. The committee decided to meet again on October 17 to continue reviewing the proposed amendments.
Aimal Wali expressed his opposition to the idea of provincial constitutional courts, while supporting a federal constitutional court with equal representation from all regions. Meanwhile, Senator Irfan Siddiqui criticized PTI for not submitting any proposals after seven meetings, despite all other parties having presented their drafts.
In his statement, Aimal Wali also emphasized the need to rename the province “Pakhtunkhwa,” a long-standing demand of ANP, and expressed confidence that no party would oppose this proposal in the final draft.
Irfan Siddiqui: All Parties Except PTI Have Submitted Proposals
Senator Irfan Siddiqui, a member of the special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments, stated that even in the seventh meeting, PTI did not submit its draft. Speaking to the media, Senator Siddiqui mentioned that all parties, except PTI, have presented their drafts to the committee. PTI, however, has not even offered suggestions.
He revealed that PTI dismissed Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s (JUI) draft as solely a JUI document. PTI stated that they would meet with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif before discussing the draft with their leadership and then submitting it.
Senator Siddiqui added that PTI has agreed to present its draft after Maulana’s meetings with Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal.