ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has refused to support the government’s proposal to extend judges’ tenure or increase their retirement age, leaving the government-proposed constitutional amendment package hanging in the balance.
This development has created a major hurdle for the ruling coalition, which has been scrambling to secure enough support to push the amendments aimed at making major changes to Pakistan’s judicial and parliamentary systems through parliament.
According to sources, while opposition parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with some government allies, have given conditional backing for the formation of a constitutional court, they remain divided on the issue of judges’ extension.
The development came after a meeting of special parliamentary committee, held to discuss the package, ended without a consensus, despite several rounds of consultations.
After the meeting, the session of the National Assembly (NA), initially slated for 11am (Sunday), finally got underway late at night after multiple delays in the wake of consultations between the government and opposition.
