19th Amend Bill sails through NA

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the 19th Amendment Bill with an overwhelming majority.PML-Q parliamentarian Kashmala Tariq was the only one who voted against the bill.
Of the 342 members, 258 voted in the bill’s favour, one vote was cast against the bill, while the remaining 84 MNAs did not turn up. Now, if the Senate passes the bill with a two-thirds majority, it will become part of the constitution.
The bill consists of seven clauses and primarily deals with the appointment of judges to the superior courts.
Explaining the amendments in various articles of the constitution, Prime Minister’s Adviser Senator Raza Rabbani, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR), said parliament respected the independence of the judiciary and it was the endeavor of parliament that all state organs worked within their constitutional ambit.
“The PCCR completed its task to amend some clauses, including 175A, in light of Supreme Court orders in a record time, which shows the sagacity and far-sightedness of parliamentarians,” he added. He said the apex court in its order referred to parliament for reconsideration of the provisions of Articles 175A in the light of the observations made in the said order. “The bill gives effect to certain amendments in the constitution after giving consideration to the observations of the Supreme Court and the matter incidental or ancillary thereto or otherwise deemed necessary,” he added.
Highlighting some salient features of the 19th Amendment, Rabbani said it was wrongly reported in some section of the press that Chief Justice of Pakistan’s powers regarding ad-hoc changes had been curtailed. “By amending Article 182, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan has been given a role in the appointment of ad-hoc judges. Now the chief justice of Pakistan will recommend the name of ad-hoc judges to the president through the prime minister, in consultation with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan,” he added.
Rabbani said the constitutional reforms committee had also amended clause 2 of Article 175A and now under the 19th Amendment Bill, four senior-most judges would be appointed in the JCP instead of two.
He added that the constitutional reforms committee had proposed 26 amendments in the in six articles, including articles 81, 175, 175A, 182, 213 and 246.
“By amending Article 246 of the constitution, the Tribal Areas adjoining Lakki Marwat and Tank districts have been declared part of FATA,” he said.
Rabbani said the reforms committee had renamed the High Court for the Islamabad Capital Territory as Islamabad High Court by amending Article 81 and Article 175. He said amendment to clause 13 of Article 175A had enabled the prime minister’s inclusion in the process of appointment of judges.
“Under the 19th Amendment, the PCCR shall send the names of the nominees to the prime minister, who shall forward the same to the president for appointment,” Rabbani added. He said the meetings of the PCCR would be held in-camera in and the record of the proceedings would be maintained under the 19th Amendment.
“The PCCR can also discuss and consider the conduct of judges now,” Rabbani said. He said the criterion for the representation of the provincial bar councils in the JCP for the selection of chief justice of high courts had also been explained and a senior advocate of provincial bar council with 15 years of experience would be eligible for inclusion in the JCP. Earlier, the federal cabinet unanimously approved the 19th Constitutional Amendment Bill 2010 for its timely presentation in parliament.