The introduction of the 27th Amendment Bill revealed for the first time the exact changes the government wishes to make in the Constitution. The changes need not be final, for the dust has not yet settled on the 26th Amendment, with the Supreme Court Constitutional Bench seized of a plea for its being struck down, that the government has introduced the 27th. Again, the judiciary is being changed, and the halfway house of the Constitutional Benches is now to be abandoned in favour of a full-fledged constitutional court. The PPP’s viewpoint seems to have been accommodated, and there seems no attempt is being made to reverse any of the provisions of the 18th Amendment, particularly the lifting of the cap on provincial shares in the Federal Divisible Pool. There is to be a revision of the defence services, with the question of inter-service coordination being solved by making the Chief of Army Staff the Chief of Defence Services.
One of the troubling aspects of the Amendment is not so much the content, as the process. The bill was introduced in the Senate and at once referred to the Standing Committees on Law and Justice of both Houses, from where it will be reported back ready for passage. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had told the Senate that there would be adequate debate on the Amendment, which may not be possible if the government rushes it through the two Houses. It is not appropriate for any ordinary law to be amended in such haste, let alone the Constitution. One major reason for due consideration of legislation is to ensure it does not conflict with the Constitution, which also applies to constitutional amendments. After all, the Supreme Court has already quoted with approval the Indian Supreme Court judgements which say the basic structure of the Constitution must be preserved, and any amendment violating it must be struck down.
The problem is that even though constitutional amendments are not supposed to be judged by partisan standards, but by how they will affect the governance of the country, the division is already visible on party lines. The PTI, though its central Information Secretary, has the 27th Amendment will sound the death knell for democracy, judicial independence and civilian supremacy. That is a rather sweeping statement. Whether one agrees or not, it does seem to set a contentious tone for the all-too-brief debate that is taking place.
