Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Nisar Khuhro said on Friday that any debate over the proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution is premature. Speaking at a press conference in the Sindh Assembly's committee room in Karachi, he said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) does not have the two-thirds majority that parliament needs to amend the Constitution. In his view, a debate on the 28th Amendment at this stage would weaken the country's future.
Why the two-thirds majority matters
Khuhro said talk of the 28th Amendment debate was premature even if the federal government brought its other allies on board, because that combined support would still fall short of two-thirds. A two-thirds majority means that at least two-thirds of the members of parliament must back a constitutional change before it can pass. Without that numbers game, the government cannot amend the Constitution on its own, and that is the core of his argument.
Governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The press conference also covered governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which Khuhro said was not a new issue and had persisted for many years. Under the Constitution, governor's rule, meaning direct control of a province by the governor in place of an elected government, can be imposed when the law and order situation deteriorates beyond acceptable limits. He said the president had signed the summary for imposing it in KP, acting on the approval of the federal cabinet and the advice of the prime minister.
Khuhro said the step was not meant to last long and could be withdrawn if political parties agreed on a joint action plan against terrorism. The government, he added, had not closed the doors to negotiations with political parties on the situation in KP. He also said the former chief minister of KP had not shown willingness to confront terrorists.
What happens next
Whether the 28th Amendment debate moves forward will depend on the numbers in parliament, which Khuhro said the ruling party does not have. The more immediate question for KP is whether political parties reach the action plan that he linked to ending governor's rule. At the same event, Aiman Saleem, daughter of former cricketer Saleem Yousuf, announced that she was joining the PPP.
Aasan alfaaz mein
PPP ke leader Nisar Khuhro ne kaha hai ke 28th Amendment par behas abhi qabal-e-waqt hai, kyunke hukumati PML-N ke paas parliament mein do-tihai aksariyat nahi. Unhon ne Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein governor's rule ke bare mein kaha ke yeh lambe arsay ke liye nahi hai aur siyasi jamaaton ke mushtarka plan par agree karne se khatam ho sakta hai. Aam shehri ke liye aaeeni tarmeem ki behas ka asar fori taur par rozmarra ke kharchon par nahi, balke mulk ke nizam par zyada ho sakta hai.
