LAHORE: The ruling coalition appears to be planning to introduce the 27th amendment, more commonly referred to as the 26th Amendment, in order to reform local governments and “address issues skipped in previous legislation” after seeing the 26th Amendment through to its logical conclusion.
Following a meeting in Lahore between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari attended by key leaders from both parties, sources revealed these details.
A brief press release from the PM Office stated that the country’s political situation was discussed during the meeting, despite the fact that neither party made any official statements regarding the meeting’s agenda or the decisions made afterwards.
According to the statement, PM Shehbaz stated that the PPP was a significant ally of the government and that it had backed every initiative taken to maintain the country’s economic stability.
It stated that the PPP delegation expressed confidence in the government’s various sector-specific initiatives and praised the economic policies implemented by the government.
Media reports additionally guaranteed that the PPP administrator focused on the need to cooperate for parliament and a majority rule government. According to reports, he stated that the most recent amendment would rein in the anti-democratic forces.
PM Shehbaz expressed gratitude to the coalition parties for their assistance in ensuring that the amendment was approved by a two-thirds vote. He said that inflation was going down in a noticeable way because of positive economic indicators.
Mr. Bhutto-Zardari dodged questions about the meeting at a subsequent appearance, claiming that he only met the premier to inform him of his “visit to Lahore for the polo match.”
Dawn was informed, however, by a source, that the so-called “27th Amendment” was discussed at PM Shehbaz’s Model Town residence.
The source said, without going into specifics, that both sides did discuss the details of the new amendment in order to satisfy the MQM-P’s demand for empowering local bodies, the third tier of government. They also discussed “other” concerns.
The MQM had agreed to support the 26th Amendment on the condition that its demand for local governments be included in the subsequent amendment.
The attendees’ names also gave a hint at the topic of the discussions: From the PPP’s perspective, ex-PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Syed Naveed Qamar, and Barrister Murtaza Wahab attended, while the PML-N’s contingent included Rana Sanaullah and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
During the meeting between the PM and the PPP chief, provincial affairs and other topics were discussed, according to PPP Punjab leader Barrister Amir Hasan.
He stated that both parties must collaborate on a number of fronts, including implementing the Charter of Democracy’s unfulfilled agenda, amending NAB laws, implementing additional judicial reforms, and halting the trend of defaming politicians and parliament without providing evidence.
Rana Sanaullah, a staunch member of the PML-N, stated later on Sunday that the meeting agreed that the special parliamentary committee that negotiated the 26th Amendment would continue to function.
He claimed that the PML-N and PPP leaders were all in agreement that the 26th Amendment should be the primary focus, and that any subsequent amendment would be presented after a consensus. He denied that work on the 27th Amendment had begun.
He went on to say that the talks didn’t focus on bringing back any of the things that were left out of the final version of the 26th amendment.
In response to a question, Mr. Sanaullah stated that controversial judges should not serve on the constitutional benches proposed by the 26th Amendment and that Chief Justice Yahya Afridi should not lead these benches.
