27th Amendment Bill tabled in Senate after cabinet's approval

In a major development, the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate on Saturday after the federal cabinet approved the draft of the bill, that gives a new position of the chief of defence forces to the army chief and abolishes the post of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

- Tariq Butt

The positions of the field marshal (army chief Syed Asim Munir), marshal of the air and admiral of the fleet have been provided constitutional cover. Such position holders will have these armed forces ranks for life. They will be divested of their positions only by the parliament and not the prime minister.

The famous suo motu powers of the Supreme Court the exercise of which had at times played havoc has been scrapped. The method of appointment of superior court judges is being changed.

The eight-page amendment bill proposed the establishment of the constitutional court and given wide powers. It will be independent of the Supreme Court.

As soon as a delayed Senate session began, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar requested the suspension of the question hour and other house business so he could brief lawmakers on the amendment. Before that, the draft amendment was approved by the federal cabinet with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif chairing it via video link from Azerbaijan.