President Asif Ali Zardari. Photo: PID
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday signed into law the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, following its approval by both houses of parliament. With the consent of the President, the bill has formally become part of the Constitution of Pakistan, according to a presidential press release.
The approval came hours after the Senate approved the amendment bill after voting on it for the second time amid opposition protest. The Senate revised the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2025, previously passed by the National Assembly, omitting five clauses and reinstating and amending three out of a total of 59 before its adoption.
Announcing the result, Senate President Yousuf Raza Gilani said 64 votes had been cast in favor of the bill and four against. “So the motion is approved by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total members of the Senate and, consequently, the bill is approved.”
The bill, tabled by Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, was passed through a two-way, division-by-clause and clause-by-clause voting process.
The revisions included the removal of clauses 4, 19, 22, 51 and 55, while clause 53 and its subclauses were reinstated and amended as part of the upper house’s effort to reform the legislation.
Syed Ali Zafar, a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Kamran Murtaza of Jamait Ulama-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), opposed the bill, arguing that two defecting members of their parties had already announced their resignations and were therefore ineligible to cast their votes.
Responding to the opposition members, Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar acknowledged the legal expertise of the opposition senators, but emphasized that the interpretation of Article 63-A should be limited to the Constitution.
He clarified that party references against members are only allowed in three cases: vote against the party leadership in the election of the Prime Minister or CM, a no-confidence vote, or in the budget/finance bill or in a constitutional amendment.
The Minister of Justice clarified that under the Constitution, the leader of a party can issue a statement against a member, which is then sent by the president to the Electoral Commission for a hearing, with the right of appeal directly to the Supreme Court. He stressed that no member is disqualified simply for disagreeing with a vote, and warned that constitutional provisions should not be twisted to score political points.
The minister clarified that the declaration, hearing and final decision under article 63 A corresponds to the Electoral Commission, and until the process is completed, the member legally continues to be part of the House. The minister reiterated that constitutional obligations must be respected in letter and spirit, warning that parliamentary traditions must 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 the objections, he acknowledged Senator Ali Zafar’s legal expertise but emphasized that political and constitutional history must be considered in its entirety, noting that those now raising procedural concerns had “left aside rules on the record” during a no-confidence vote, adding that “no evil can become good.”
Dar noted that seven of the eight amendments returned were technical, while one important change strengthened Article 6 to prevent any court, including the proposed Federal Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court or the High Courts, from validating the repeal or subversion of the Constitution.
