Constitutional amendment: luncheon for coalition parties to be hosted by PM Shehbaz

Thursday is National Assembly day, when the 26th constitutional amendment is expected to be proposed. Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif invited members of the coalition parties to lunch.

The meeting will start at 2:00 pm at Parliament House, according to sources. Invitations have been sent to every lawmaker from the center-right alliance.

In the interim, there has been a rescheduling of the Parliament’s special committee on constitutional modifications. Originally scheduled for 12:30 pm, the special committee meeting will now take place on Thursday at 11:30 am.

After meeting in Karachi earlier on Tuesday, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) were able to come to an agreement on changes to the constitution.

It was revealed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman during a joint press conference in Karachi.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was praised by Maulana Fazlur Rehman for reaching an agreement between his party and the PPP on the draft of constitutional reforms.

The JUI-F leader, however, deemed the government’s first proposed constitutional revisions to be unacceptable and rejected them. The nation, the constitution, and the parliament need to speak with one voice, he said, emphasizing the necessity for noncontroversial constitutional reforms.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the event and stated that on Wednesday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif will meet with JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The JUI-F and PPP have finalized the text, and he indicated that the PML-N will be invited to support it as well.

The accord between the PPP and JUI-F will act as the cornerstone for future talks, Bhutto Zardari stated, adding, “We will try to include PML-N in this consensus.”

Securing a resolution to public issues is the aim, according to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, not personal gain or expediency.