PTI Boycotts 27th Amendment, Calls Process “Non-Transparent”

Senior PTI leader Senator Ali Zafar made the announcement alongside other opposition figures outside Parliament House. He revealed that the government provided a draft containing approximately 50 proposed constitutional changes.

Zafar directly criticised the secrecy surrounding the amendments. He expressed clear frustration that the opposition was expected to present a stance without proper review. “We have not even read a single word of it; consequently, how could we appear before the committee?” he questioned.

Senator Zafar specifically contrasted the current process with the creation of the 18th Amendment. He highlighted that the 18th Amendment involved extensive, year-long consultations. In sharp contrast, he described the current effort as a mere “staged drama.”

The PTI leader then issued a grave warning about the amendment’s specific content. According to his analysis, the proposals seek to grant the President lifetime immunity. Furthermore, they would abolish Article 184 the constitutional foundation for the Supreme Court’s power to enforce fundamental rights.

“The spirit of the 1973 Constitution is undergoing a fundamental change,” he stated emphatically. “These amendments will effectively dismantle the Supreme Court. Ultimately, they would reduce it to a mere appellate court.” He declared that the PTI would never participate in any “conspiracy against the Constitution.”

Other prominent opposition leaders immediately echoed these strong concerns. For instance, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) head Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas labelled the proposals “an attack on the integrity of Pakistan’s Constitution.”

He further argued that the current parliament lacks a true public mandate. Therefore, he warned that the amendment “will end the very status of parliament.”

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja reinforced this stance on social media. He explicitly called the proposed amendment a “ploy to enslave us.” He argued that subjugating the Supreme Court to a new, government-favoured court would transform the judiciary into “an instrument of coercion.”