ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded has drafted a 20th Amendment Bill which the party’s Senator Salim Saifullah will table in the Senate soon, Pakistan Today learnt on Tuesday.
A party source told Pakistan Today that the bill proposed simplification of the constitutional procedure for the creation of new provinces as well as recommended amendments in Article 63-A of the constitution which under the 18th Amendment had given special powers to political parties heads for moving disqualification references against party parliamentarians.
The allies of the PML-Likeminded in Muttahida Muslim League (MML), including PML-Functional, PML-Zia and Awami Muslim League have also endorsed the proposed bill. The source said that the 20th amendment draft bill was also discussed in a MML meeting held on Monday in Lahore.
It decided that Senator Salim Saifullah and Jahangir Khan Tareen would finalise the draft and present it in next meeting of 4-party alliance of Muslim Leagues.
When contacted, PML-Zia’s president Ijazul Haq said that constituent parties of MML had mandated Salim Saifullah and Jahangir Khan Tareen to finalise the 20th amendment draft bill. “The bill will be jointly tabled in the house by the PML-Likeminded and the PML-F,” he added.
Senator Salim Saifullah, president PML-Likeminded said: “Yes, my party has drafted the 20th Amendment Bill which I will table as a private member bill in the Senate.
We have proposed in the bill that the role of provincial assemblies in the making of new provinces be abolished,” said Saifullah, adding that in the proposed 20th Amendment Bill, the PML-Likeminded had proposed that National Assembly be empowered to create new provinces with only simple majority instead of existing two-third majority condition.
He said the bill proposed mandatory elections within political parties as well as amendments in existing Article 63-A of the Constitution which vested more powers to political parties’ heads.
“The joint party meeting of Muttahida Muslim League will give final approval of the bill soon,” he added.
