President Asif Ali Zardari. Photo: PID
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday signed the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law, after its approval by both Houses of Parliament. With the President’s assent, the bill is now officially part of the Constitution of Pakistan, a presidential press release said.
The agreement came hours after the Senate approved the amendment bill after voting on it a second time amid protests from the opposition. The Senate revised the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2025, previously passed by the National Assembly, by omitting five clauses and reinserting and amending three of the total 59 clauses before its passage.
Announcing the results, Senate President Yousuf Raza Gilani said 64 votes were cast in favor of the bill and four against. “The motion is therefore adopted by the votes of at least two-thirds of the entire membership of the Senate and, therefore, the bill is adopted.”
The bill, presented by Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, was passed through a two-way split and clause-by-clause voting process.
The revisions included the removal of Articles 4, 19, 22, 51 and 55, while Article 53 and its paragraphs were reinstated and amended as part of the upper house’s efforts to reshape the legislation.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Syed Ali Zafar and Jamait Ulama-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Kamran Murtaza opposed the bill, arguing that two defected members of their party had already announced their resignation and were therefore ineligible to vote.
Responding to opposition members, Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar acknowledged the legal expertise of the opposing senators but stressed that the interpretation of Article 63-A must remain limited to the Constitution.
He clarified that references to a party against members are only allowed in three cases: voting against the party leadership during the election of the Prime Minister or CM, a vote of no confidence, or on the finance/budget bill or a constitutional amendment.
The Justice Minister clarified that under the Constitution, a party leader can issue a declaration against a member, which is then forwarded by the President to the Electoral Commission for a hearing, with the right of appeal directly to the Supreme Court. He stressed that no member is disqualified simply because of disagreement with a vote, warning that constitutional provisions should not be distorted for political purposes.
The minister clarified that the declaration, hearing and final decision under Section 63A belongs to the Election Commission and until the process is completed, the member legally continues to be part of the House. The minister reiterated that constitutional obligations must be respected in letter and spirit, warning that parliamentary traditions must not be undermined by selective interpretations.
Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Leader of the House, informed the Senate that the amendments returned by the National Assembly to the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill represented “corrections and clarifications”.
Responding to objections, he acknowledged Senator Ali Zafar’s legal expertise, but stressed that political and constitutional history must be considered in its entirety, pointing out that those now raising procedural issues had previously “thrown aside rules in a matter of minutes” during a vote of no confidence, adding that “no wrong can make right.”
Dar noted that seven of the eight amendments returned were technical, while one major change strengthened Article 6 to prohibit any court, including the proposed Federal Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court or the High Courts, from validating the abrogation or subversion of the Constitution.
