ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Saturday approved the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment after reviewing suggestions from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), sources said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting via video link from Baku, Azerbaijan. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan briefed the cabinet on the amendment’s details.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Information Minister Atta Tarar attended the session.
Sources said the amendment draft would be presented in the Senate later in the day following cabinet approval. The meeting, initially set for Friday, was delayed due to political disagreements.
PPP reservations
Earlier, the PPP said it disagreed with several clauses of the proposed amendment. The party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) opposed removing Clause 3A of Article 160 and any move that could reduce provincial shares in the NFC Award.
The CEC also rejected proposals to roll back Schedules 2 and 3 related to provincial autonomy and opposed transferring education and population matters to federal control.
Sources said the PPP also refused to support changes to Article 213 on the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Article 63(1)(c) concerning dual nationality for civil servants.
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The party further objected to amendments expanding the powers of Executive Magistrates.
