Fazl vows to resist withdrawal of provincial powers, says 27th amendment draft yet to emerge
ISLAMABAD:
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday warned that attempts to “fabricate” a two-thirds parliamentary majority for the proposed 27th constitutional amendment would harm democracy, asserting that his party would strongly oppose any move to curtail provincial autonomy.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the JUI-F parliamentary party, Fazl said the government was yet to present a formal draft of the amendment.
“No text of the 27th Amendment has been shared so far,” he said, adding that under the 26th Amendment the government had “withdrawn 35 clauses”, warning that if any of these withdrawn provisions were reinstated, his party would oppose it directly.
Asked whether the amendments to Article 243 were the same as those originally included in the 26th Amendment, Fazl said: “If these amendments adversely affect politics or democracy, we will oppose them. But if they merely provide administrative clarity, we can support them”.
The JUI-F leader condemned political maneuvering to muster a two-thirds majority for constitutional amendments. “This kind of number extraction is an affront to democracy and parliament,” he said.
“If there is an attempt to reduce provincial powers granted under the 18th Amendment, we will resist it. We will not allow anyone to plunder provincial rights. Powers must be expanded, not curtailed.”
Fazl stressed that the 18th amendment had been a consensus-based reform. “There were not two opposing sides in that process. Every party contributed and Parliament passed it unanimously after careful consideration,” he recalled.
“We were told to pass it in three days, but it took us a month. We will review the size and scope of this new change before deciding when and how to pass it.” He also reiterated that his party did not consider the current assembly as a true representative of the public.
“No real steps are being taken regarding madrassa registration and efforts are being made to place religious seminaries under the education ministry,” he lamented.
“There has also been no visible progress on the abolition of interest-based financial systems.”
Earlier, JUI-F’s parliamentary party met at Fazl’s residence with the participation of both members of the National Assembly and senators.
His statement came a day after PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said his party would oppose any clause in the 27th amendment that reduced provincial shares while supporting changes proposed to Article 243, which relates to the command and appointment of the armed forces.
Bilawal told reporters after a PPP Central Executive Committee meeting that while the party supported adjustments to Article 243, it “completely” rejected proposals to reduce provincial allocations.
