Daily Times

Amid rumours of a judiciary-centric legislation aiming to extend the retirement age of superior courts’ judges, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has asserted that the government is poised to introduce a ‘constitutional amendment’ in the National Assembly (NA) today (Saturday) as it has achieved the ‘magic number’.

“We have completed the number game in the lower house of parliament,” he said in an informal conversation with journalists at the parliament’s corridor on Friday. A session of the National Assembly has been summoned, he confirmed.

The defence czar’s remarks came amid reports suggesting that the government is mulling introducing a number of judicial reforms through a ‘constitutional package’, which also includes an extension in the retirement age of top courts’ judges.

Article 179 of the Constitution envisages that a judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he attains the age of 65 years unless he sooner resigns or is removed from office under the Constitution. Article 195 of the Constitution says that a judge of a high court shall hold office until he attains the age of 62 years unless he sooner resigns or is removed from office following the Constitution.

The government intends to increase the retirement age of Supreme Court judges to 68. In the case of high court judges, the retirement age will be increased to 65.

Despite being tight-lipped on the proposed amendments to the Constitution, the incumbent leadership left no stone unturned to secure the numbers required to ensure its passage from parliament.

However, a day earlier, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) stopped its Senate members from any kind of voting on the proposed constitutional amendment.

In a letter to the members, JUIF parliamentary leader Kamran Murtaza said that nothing is clear regarding the constitutional amendment. Therefore, no voting should be done until the written decision of the party leadership is there.

Before the 2024 general elections, Fazl was one of the closest allies of the PML-N and the PPP and headed the multi-party opposition alliance – Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – which successfully ousted the former premier Imran Khan from office via a no-confidence motion in 2022.

Earlier, speculations about Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa’s extension gained attraction after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sought an early issuance of notification regarding the next top judge last month.

On September 10, CJP Isa termed his recent “off the record” conversation with journalists misinterpreted and clarified that he would not accept any “individual specific” proposal on fixing the tenure of the country’s top judge.

Separately, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has stated that every citizen is disappointed with current political situation in the country.

Speaking to media, Bilawal Bhutto mentioned that the biggest challenge for the government is constitutional amendments. He said that Zulfiqar Bhutto gave us the constitution, and through the 18th Amendment, we restored it.

Bilawal Bhutto added that no institution in the country is functioning properly. He cited the judiciary, saying that Shaheed Bhutto has only now received justice. If Bhutto’s third generation had to wait for justice, what hope can the common man have?

The PPP chairman also stressed the need for free and responsible journalism, stating that if an elected representative speaks against the media, the media must tolerate it.