26th Constitution Amendment Bill passed in Pakistan Parliament, paving the way to limit the office of Chief Justice of Supreme Court to three years

Islamabad, 21 October (HIST). Ultimately the Government of Pakistan was successful in passing the Constitution Amendment Bill. For this, the government had to work hard for about a month to garner support. The National Assembly passed the controversial 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill early today after nearly five hours of debate.

According to details available on the website of Pakistan's leading newspaper Dawn, 225 members supported the bill during voting in the 336-member National Assembly. The government needed 224 votes to pass the amendment. According to Dawn, the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill is also known as the constitutional package. After approval from both the houses of the Parliament, it has now become a law.

This bill was initially given the green signal by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. It was presented by Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar in the National Assembly at 11:36 pm on Sunday. There was a debate on this for about five hours in the night. Ultimately it passed at five in the morning. However, 12 members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed it.

Five senators from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal and two MPs from Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) also voted in favor of the bill. The bill proposes to constitute a 12-member commission for the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. There is also a provision to limit the appointment of the Chief Justice of the country to three years.

According to AIY news channel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment is an excellent manifestation of national unity and consensus. Speaking in the National Assembly today after the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, he expressed confidence that this law will ensure easy and quick justice for the common man. He called it a big milestone. The Prime Minister thanked the coalition partners and JUI(F) for supporting the constitutional amendment. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sent advice to President Asif Ali Zardari for assent to the 26th Constitutional Amendment.