Coercing the 24th Amendment through the NA at this time would be an unwise move
If ever there was a dire need for the PML-N to forge an amicable consensus within parliament with all parties on board, it is on the controversial The Constitution (24th Amendment) Bill 2016, introduced by it in the National Assembly on November 18. The Bill, which would allow any aggrieved individual to challenge the Supreme Court decision made in suo moto cases, and to be heard by a larger bench, has rightly invited a barrage of criticism. The other day, in a parliamentary debate, the PPP, the MQM and the JI all raised the matter of opportunism, ulterior motive and conflict of interest in the ruling party’s desire to bulldoze the Bill at this particular juncture. The PPP also staged a walkout from the Lower House.
With the Panama Leaks case sub judice in the Supreme Court, the Sharif family is indeed poised on top of a huge wave of Fate, uncertain on which side it might fall. Hence the universal chorus of protests by the opposition at the present timing and the dubious purpose behind the Bill.
Outside the House, arch-nemesis Imran Khan is desperately seeking to create a modicum of opposition unity by personal contact between the top leadership of the PPP and the PTI. And lest one forget, there is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s threat to take to the streets from December 27 if its four famous demands are not met by the Nawaz government.
No doubt compromise goes against the grain of the PML-N especially when it feels it is on top of the situation, with no immediate danger or looming threat. The heavy mandate mindset overpowers reason and common sense or the inclination to listen to the other person’s point of view. But it would be in its and our democracy’s best interests to achieve a consensus inside the House on the present Bill, and quickly, before the forces now starting to array against it unite on a single platform and take to the streets.