Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has called for ‘meaningful’ public feedback on proposed constitutional amendments.
Bilawal disclosed that his party had already shared the draft with the government and various political entities, including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and a high-level parliamentary committee.
On the social media platform X, Bilawal emphasized that the draft aims to advance the Charter of Democracy’s agenda on judicial reforms. “We propose the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court with equal representation from all federating units to address fundamental rights, constitutional interpretations, and disputes between the federal and provincial governments,” he stated.
Bilawal also suggested a shift in the judge appointment process: “We propose ending the current practice where judges appoint judges. By merging judicial and parliamentary committees, we aim to give equal roles to the Parliament, Judiciary, and legal fraternity.”
The PPP has been actively engaging with political parties, bar associations, and civil society nationwide to gather support for this amendment. “We hope to form a joint draft that will lay the groundwork for a broad consensus among political parties to pass the 26th Constitutional Amendment,” Bilawal added.
The federal government has also outlined the proposed constitutional amendments, including forming a seven-member Constitutional Court. This court will include the Chief Justice, appointed by a retired senior judge, the Law Minister, the Attorney General, and a representative from the Pakistan Bar Council. The government and the opposition will nominate two members from both houses, while provincial courts will have a similar structure.
The amendments specify that judges must be at least 40 years old, have three years of court experience and have ten years of legal practice. The president will give final approval to a Federal Constitutional Council established to remove judges.
Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court will be binding and final, while appeals from provincial constitutional courts can be directed to the Federal Court. Additionally, the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will be handled by an eight-member parliamentary committee selected from the three senior-most judges.
