ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari officially signed the 27th Constitutional Amendment into law on Thursday after receiving parliamentary approval, making it an official part of the Constitution.
A notification from the President’s House confirmed: “The Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2025 is hereby assented to, as advised by the Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif] in Para-5 of the Summary.” This development followed the Senate’s approval of the bill shortly after the National Assembly passed it a day earlier amid protests from opposition parties. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar introduced the amendment bill today, which incorporated some of the changes approved by the upper house. The bill was passed with 64 votes in favor and only four against, securing the two-thirds majority needed in the 96-member Senate.
Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani announced the results, stating, “The motion has been carried by the votes of at least two-thirds of the Senate’s total membership, and the bill is therefore passed.”
The bill, initially introduced in the Senate on Monday and approved on the same day, was then sent to the National Assembly. The lower house approved it with amendments, after which the bill returned to the Senate for final approval on Tuesday.The National Assembly’s version of the bill aims to overhaul the judicial structure and modify the military command system. It was approved with 234 votes in favor and four against, with opposition members walking out in protest. The amendments included eight changes not present in the earlier Senate draft, mainly focused on clarifying the role and status of the Chief Justice.
Key modifications involve the reorganization of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), defining the titles and hierarchy of top judicial officials, and removing several clauses related to oath-taking procedures for constitutional offices, which had been part of the Senate’s draft.
One notable change concerns Clause 2, which alters Article 6(2A) relating to high treason. The amended version explicitly mentions the “Federal Constitutional Court” after “the,” thereby including the court within the scope of the treason law something the Senate draft lacked.Another significant update involves a new Clause 2A, which amends Article 10(4) to include the “Supreme Court” in the context of preventive detention.
The final version of the bill also removed some provisions that appeared in the Senate’s draft, particularly Clauses 4, 19, 51, and 55, which dealt with the wording of oaths for various constitutional officials. For example, Clause 4 would have changed the oath of the President to be administered before the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court instead of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Similarly, Clauses 19, 51, and 55 would have amended the oath procedures for the Auditor General, Chief Election Commissioner, and cases where oath-taking is delayed.
All these oath-related proposals were ultimately omitted by the National Assembly. Another important change was introduced through Clause 23, which amends Article 176 to specify that “the incumbent Chief Justice shall continue to be known as the Chief Justice of Pakistan during his tenure,” regardless of the new judicial arrangements.
Additionally, Clause 56 now defines the “Chief Justice of Pakistan” as “the senior among the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” establishing a formal hierarchy.
The entire legislative package, requiring a two-thirds majority in the 336-member National Assembly, was passed comfortably. The ruling coalition, comprising PML-N (125 seats), PPP (74), MQM-P (22), PML-Q (4), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (4), and single seats from various smaller parties, collectively secured the majority. Only four members of JUI-F, once allied with the ruling coalition, opposed the amendments.
