Fazl vows to resist rollback of provincial powers, says 27th Amendment draft is yet to surface
ISLAMABAD:
JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday warned that attempts to “manufacture” a two-thirds parliamentary majority for the proposed 27th constitutional amendment would harm democracy, saying his party would strongly resist any move to curtail provincial autonomy.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the JUI-F parliamentary party, Fazl said the government was yet to present a formal draft of the amendment.
“No text of the 27th Amendment has been shared so far,” he said, adding that during the 26th Amendment, the government had “withdrawn 35 clauses”, and warned that if any of these withdrawn provisions were reintroduced, his party would categorically oppose it.
When asked if the amendments to Article 243 were the same as those originally included in the 26th Amendment, Fazl said: “If these changes negatively affect politics or democracy, we will oppose them. But if they only bring administrative clarity, we can support them.”
The JUI-F leader denounced political maneuvers aimed at obtaining a two-thirds majority for constitutional changes. “This kind of draw is an insult to democracy and Parliament,” he said.
“If there is any attempt to curtail the provincial powers granted under the 18th Amendment, we will resist it. We will not allow anyone to plunder provincial rights. The powers must be expanded, not curtailed.”
Fazl emphasized that the 18th Amendment was a consensus-based reform. “There were not two opposing camps in this process. Each party contributed and Parliament adopted it unanimously after extensive deliberations,” he recalled.
“We were told to pass it in three days, but it took us a month. We will consider the size and scope of this new amendment before deciding when and how it should be passed.” He also reiterated that his party did not consider the current assembly to be truly representative of the public.
“No real measures are being taken regarding the registration of madrassas, and efforts are being made to place religious seminaries under the supervision of the Ministry of Education,” he lamented.
“There has also been no visible progress in eliminating interest-based financial systems.”
Earlier, the JUI-F parliamentary party held a meeting at Fazl’s residence, in the presence of members of the National Assembly and senators.
His statement comes a day after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said his party would oppose any clause in the 27th Amendment reducing provincial shares, while supporting proposed changes to Article 243, which relates to the command and appointment of armed forces.
Bilawal told reporters after a PPP Central Executive Committee meeting that while the party supported adjustments to Article 243, it “completely rejected” suggestions to cut provincial allocations.
