ISLAMABAD: The Senate and National Assembly on Sunday night passed the 26th constitutional amendment bill with two-third majority.
The bill needed a two-third majority in the Senate – 64 members. The chair, who belongs to the PPP, an ally of the PML-N government, did not join the voting. After the passage of the bill clause wise, the chair asked the members opposing and supporting the bill to move to respective lobbies.
When the bill was put for voting clauses wise, 65 members – 58 belonging to the ruling parties, five from JUI and two of Balochistan National Party – voted in support and four against for the first clause of the bill. However, after this, there was dissenting votes and these were sailed though by 65 votes each. The few members belonging to PTI, Sunni Ittehad Council and MWM left the house.
The National Assembly continued its sitting till well past 3am and passed the bill. When the bill was clause-wise put to vote, 225 members supported and 12 opposed it.
However, later the opposition members walked out and the bill was passed without any dissenting vote.
Earlier, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar presented the bill in the housed and said that the bill had been vetted by a special committee representing all parliamentary parties, and talks were also held with opposition parties.
He said that after long and marathon discussions with the JUI consensus was developed on the content of the bill with some changes to it.