PTI Senator Ali Zafar detailed during a Senate session on Sunday five points that he said constituted the fundamental spirit of the 1973 Constitution and warned that altering the “balance of these five pillars” could lead to “major chaos”.
The session was convened today — on a Sunday in a rare move — with a one-point agenda to deliberate on the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
The 26-page Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025 was tabled in the Senate yesterday amid the opposition’s outcry over the pace and scope of the proposed changes, just hours after its approval by the federal cabinet.
Senate Chairperson Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani presided over the session today, which began with the House remembering Allama Iqbal on his birth anniversary. Later, the house also passed a resolution in relevance to Iqbal Day.
During the session, PTI lawmakers had pictures of their party founder Imran Khan placed on their desks. At the beginning of the proceedings, a PTI leader raised an objection, to which Gilani replied that as per his ruling yesterday, the senator could bring his concerns to the Senate chairman’s office.
‘You cannot force a Constitution through bullets’
Addressing the upper house of the parliament, PTI Senator Ali Zafar outlined “five points” that he said formed the basic spirit of the 1973 Constitution and were now being “punctured” in the proposed 27th Amendment.
The first, he said, was that Pakistan was a federation with autonomous provinces. Secondly, the elected parliament had authority but was bound to the Constitution. Zafar said the third point was the fundamental rights provided therein, with courts formed to protect and implement them.
Fourth pillar of the Constitution, he added, was an independent judiciary to protect people’s rights and guarantee democracy, while the fifth one was civilian supremacy.
“If you alter this balance of five pillars even slightly through any amendment, the entire Constitution will be shaken and can result in major chaos,” Zafar warned.
At one point, Senator Sarmad Ali objected to the PTI bringing framed pictures and placards, pointing out that it was against the Senate rules, at which Gilani requested the opposition to refrain from doing so.
After presenting his arguments against the proposed legislation, Zafar urged the House to reject the bill for it and invited the treasury benches for further discussions.
“We can sit and think. There are a lot of options how to reduce the pendency of cases. We are ready to talk with you to consider amendments that will benefit the people, but we will not tolerate that you harm the public,” the PTI leader said.
During his speech, Zafar stressed that the Constitution was a contract between the state and the public, with a “spirit of its own”. He added that the document was a pledge that everyone, regardless of the region they hailed from, would live according to the laws.
“When you make any change in the Constitution, it is equal to tampering with the foundation of a building, and if you make any mistake, the entire building can collapse,” he contended.
The PTI senator underscored the need for a consensus on making any changes to the Constitution, contending that consensus and a two-thirds majority were separate things. “You cannot force a Constitution through bullets.”
Arguing that the PTI represented millions of people and was rejecting the 27th Amendment, Zafar said, “Respect the mandate of the people and kindly do not vote for this amendment.”
The lawyer asserted that those bringing any constitutional amendment should be “genuinely elected”, with no personal motives or wishes to stay in power. “This parliament, in my opinion with due respect, is not authorised to pass these amendments,” he added.
Zafar also claimed that the proposed changes related to provincial shares and rights under the 18th Amendment, which were dropped in the current draft, were a “face-saving for the PPP” so certain originally intended amendments could be passed.