The minister of law, Azam Nazeer Tarar, emphasised on Wednesday that the package of constitutional amendments currently circulating in the public is merely a draft of ideas and should not be considered final. At a Pakistan and Supreme Court Bar Association event in Islamabad, Tarar stressed that the proposed revisions are still in the early stages of development.
The proposed revisions currently under public discussion are merely concepts. The creation of a constitutional court to precisely outline the parameters of suo motu notices under Article 184 is one of the main recommendations, according to Tarar. He pointed out that there had been an increase in these notifications from 2009 to 2013 and from 2018 to 2019, which raised questions about the need for more precise criteria. In order to underline the difficulties the judiciary faces, Tarar also revealed that a judge in the Benazir Bhutto case had received threats.
The minister continued by stating that the proposed modifications aim to ensure the representation of all federal entities in the constitutional court. He emphasized that “it is Parliament’s prerogative to legislate within constitutional boundaries, and the draft cannot be considered a bill until the government officially approves it.”
Tarar also cited the 2006 Charter of Democracy, which both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had signed, noting that both parties had committed to streamlining the legal system, a request that the legal community has also made. He disclosed that between January and March of this year, talks with the PPP on constitutional reforms had taken place, and both sides had decided to complete the incomplete 18th Amendment agenda.
Tarar’s remarks serve to quell public speculation and underscore the ongoing review of these suggestions, with the expectation of further discussion prior to the proposal of any formal legislation. The ongoing discussion about the revisions underscores its importance.