ISLAMABAD: A delegation of a key coalition partner has met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, Sharif’s office said on Saturday, as the ruling coalition intensified its efforts to get a contentious constitutional amendment package approved by parliament.
Sharif’s administration has been attempting to introduce a set of constitutional changes since last month, which the country’s opposition and prominent lawyers argue are aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments.
The proposed amendments initially suggested establishing a federal constitutional court, raising the retirement age of superior judges by three years and modifying the process for appointing the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
On Saturday, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that supports Sharif’s government, led a delegation of the PPP members to a meeting with the prime minister.
“Peoples Party delegation meets with the prime minister,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. “Discussions and consultation on the current political situation took place at the meeting.”
The development came a day after Bhutto-Zardari expressed optimism that the constitutional amendments would soon be adopted as political parties were close to reaching a consensus to secure the required majority.
However, Gohar Khan, chairman of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party, said a fourth draft of the constitutional amendments, containing 26 points, was shared with his party on Friday, adding that the PTI was still deliberating on it.
The PTI has previously said the amendments are intended to grant an extension to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who is widely thought to be aligned with the government and opposed to its chief rival, ex-PM Khan, though the ruling administration denied the allegation.
Different political parties prepared various drafts of the constitutional amendments during several rounds of negotiations before announcing their agreement on the proposed judicial reforms and submitting it to a parliamentary committee, comprising government and opposition politicians, on Friday.
“The special parliamentary committee has unanimously approved the draft of the 26th Constitutional Amendment today, Friday,” Syed Khursheed Shah, the committee chairman from the PPP, told the media on Friday.
“It will now be presented to the cabinet for approval before being submitted to both houses of parliament.”
Khan’s PTI said its leadership was due to meet their leader today, Saturday, who has been imprisoned in a high-security jail for over a year on multiple charges. The PTI had also given a nationwide protest call for Friday against the constitutional amendments, though its supporters only came out in small numbers in various Pakistani cities.
Key ally meets Pakistan PM as efforts to pass contentious constitutional amendments gain pace
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Key ally meets Pakistan PM as efforts to pass contentious constitutional amendments gain pace
- PM Shehbaz Sharif’s administration has been attempting to introduce a set of constitutional changes since last month
- Opposition and prominent lawyers argue the amendments aim to grant more power to the executive in judicial appointments
Pakistan accuses India of manipulating Chenab flows, seeks clarification under Indus Waters Treaty
- Foreign office spokesperson says sudden variations in river flows threaten agriculture, food security and livelihoods downstream
- He also condemns a niqab-removal incident in India, calling it part of a broader pattern of religious intolerance and Islamophobia
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it had observed abrupt variations in the flow of the River Chenab during the ongoing month, accusing India of manipulating river flows at a critical point in the agricultural cycle and saying it had written to New Delhi seeking clarification.
Local media reported quoted Pakistani officials as saying India released about 58,000 cusecs of water at Head Marala on Dec. 7–8 before sharply reducing flows to roughly 870–1,000 cusecs through Dec. 17, far below the 10-year historical average of 4,000–10,000 cusecs for this period.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi told a weekly media briefing in Islamabad India had failed to share prior information or operational data on the Chenab flows, a practice he said New Delhi had previously followed under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. New Delhi said earlier this year it had put the treaty “in abeyance” following a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that it blamed on Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denied, calling instead for an impartial and transparent international investigation.
Pakistan also described India’s unilateral suspension of the treaty as a violation of international law and an “act of war.”
“Pakistan would like to reiterate that the Indus Waters Treaty is a binding international agreement, which has been an instrument of peace and security and stability in the region,” Andrabi said. “Its breach or violation, on one hand, threatens the inviolability of international treaties in compliance with international law, and on the other hand, it poses serious threats to regional peace, principles of good neighborliness, and norms governing interstate relations.”
Andrabi said Pakistan viewed the sudden variations in the Chenab’s flow with “extreme concern and seriousness,” saying the country’s Indus Waters Commissioner had written to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification in line with procedures outlined in the treaty.
“Any manipulation of river flow by India, especially at a critical time of our agricultural cycle, directly threatens the lives and livelihoods, as well as food and economic security of our citizens,” he continued. “We call upon India to respond to the queries raised by Pakistan.”
He said Pakistan had fulfilled its obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty and urged the international community to take note of India’s “continued disregard” of a bilateral treaty and to counsel New Delhi to act responsibly under international law.
Andrabi maintained Pakistan remained committed to peaceful resolution of disputes with India but would not compromise on its water rights.
In the same briefing, he also condemned an incident in which the chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar was seen in a video forcibly removing the niqab of a Muslim woman during a public interaction, followed by remarks by a minister in Uttar Pradesh who mocked the episode, saying it reflected a broader pattern of religious intolerance and Islamophobia and warranted strong condemnation.
