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The government will convene a National Assembly session in the first week of October to present and seek approval for the controversial “Constitutional Package”, government’s legal adviser Barrister Aqeel Malik said on Sunday.

The package is a set of amendments to the Constitution, one of which will aim to fix the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years.

The legislation was expected to be introduced in the National Assembly and the Senate after the government failed to table it as previously scheduled, despite hectic efforts to garner the required support.

PPP Sindh President Nisa Khurro had said that his party leadership was making efforts to create consensus among the political parties on the constitutional amendments, saying “efforts will continue until a consensus is reached”.

Speaking on the Dawn News programme ‘Doosra Rukh with Nadir Guramani’, today, Barrister Aqeel said that approving the package is an “ongoing process” and stressed the need for consensus before it is presented in parliament.

“When you’re seeking a broader consensus with the major parties… we do not want anyone to have any disagreement when it is presented,” he said. “It is under discussion.”

Aqeel confirmed that of the 55 amendments proposed, amendments to Articles 8 (laws inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights to be void) and Article 243 (command of Armed Forces) had been withdrawn.

“The amendment (to Article 8) did not aim to affect anyone’s fundamental right,” Aqeel maintained, adding that the aim was to ensure transparency and cited the example of publicising the proceedings of military trials and anti-terror courts.

Aqeel added that the amendments to Article 243 had been “put on the back burner”, expanding that the amendment revolved around the tenures for service chiefs.

“The retirement age in the military can be changed through an act of parliament,” he said. “The amendment would ensure that tenures of service are better defined, to ease pressure on the government.”

Asked if amendments to Article 243 would extend the terms of CJP Qazi Faez Isa and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Aqeel replied, “You can relate this to that, but the age limit is still under consideration. We need to start somewhere.”

Aqeel added that the proposed age limit is being discussed, with a range of 66-68. “We do not want to put an age limit in place where some people would be ruled in or ruled out,” he added.

“This is not person-specific,” he emphasised. “Everyone is under consideration.”

Barrister Aqeel highlighted that one of the amendments would be the insertion of Article 9A — the fundamental right to a clean, green, and sustainable environment.

He said that this was a major success and added that if passed, “this will be the world’s first parliament to make environmental policy a constitutional right.”

‘Broader consensus’

Asked if there was a final draft, Aqeel clarified that there will be one by March or April next year. “We have taken our allies onboard. We also did our homework on Maulana sahib before calling the meeting,” he added, referring to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

“Maulana sahib received two detailed briefings from the law minister… we have removed some of the things he had reservations with”, Aqeel explained. “With regards to age, there are issues that persist which our teams are working on.”

When asked why Fazl did not agree to the amendments, Aqeel replied that they were unable to reach an understanding with the JUI-F chief regarding two or three clauses mentioned.

“I expect that by the first week of October, Maulana sahib will agree to the clauses,” he said. “By that time we will have reached a broader consensus with the opposition. He is developing his own working paper, as is Bilawal.”

“We have our own paper with our own edits,” he added. “Once everything is ready, we will have a meeting and present what we have.”

‘Mansoor Ali Khan will be CJP’

When asked when the government will notify Justice Mansoor Ali Shah as the new CJP, Aqeel responded that under Article 175A, Sub Article 3, Shah will be the next chief justice of the Supreme Court. “This is the law of the land,” he said.

“The media is really pushing for his notification,” Aqeel aid. “Qazi Faez Isa is expected to retire on October 25 — when that happens we will issue the notification before his retirement.”

“The Constitution and the law both say that Mansoor Ali Shah will be the next chief justice.”

The PTI on Saturday petitioned the Supreme Court seeking clarification on how National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would affect the implementation of the apex court’s verdict on reserved seats.

In July, the top court declared the PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, giving it a new lease on life in the legislature by declaring it a parliamentary party.

The SC dealt a further major blow to the PML-N-led coalition government last week, as it reprimanded the ECP for not implementing its July 12 judgement, further complicating the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration’s efforts to secure the required numbers to pass a controversial Constitutional Package related to the judiciary.

However, in a letter on Thursday, Sadiq had said that the judgment on reserved seats “cannot be implemented under the Amended Election Act, 2017”.

Sadiq had urged the body to honour laws made by parliament, insis­ting that the amended Elections Act prevents independent lawmakers from switching parties.

He had alleged that the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling enabled a candidate to switch political parties and argued that this went against the amended Elections Act, which he said now has overriding authority.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan submitted a petition today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, against the NA speaker’s letter, rubbishing it and a similar letter by the Punjab Assembly speaker as “nothing but an attempt to obstruct implementation” of the reserved seats verdict.

It argued that the verdict was passed “on the constitutional plane, being the proper interpretation and understanding of the relevant constitutional provisions” and could, therefore, not be superseded by ordinary legislation.

It said that according to a September 14 clarification order from the SC, the PTI’s certifications “were correct and valid in terms of the short order” and the “continued denial and refusal of the commission to accept the same” was legally incorrect.

The PTI contended that with the July ruling and the recent clarification order, the affiliation of 80 returned MNAs “stands finally determined”.

The petition expressed concern that “considering ECP’s prejudice towards the PTI, and its recalcitrance in implementing the short order … PTI fears that the ECP will use the speakers’ letters to wrongly refuse implementation of the short order and will instead declare PTI’s returned candidates as independents and will allocate reserved seats to other political parties on such basis.”

It said it was clear that the letters and the ECP’s conduct pursuant were “a blatant and contumacious attempt at hindering and obstructing the implementation of the orders of this court. As such, appropriate proceedings, including those for contempt of court, may, if considered appropriate, be initiated against the relevant personnel.”

The petition requested clarification from the court that the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, did not have any impact on the “binding nature” of the reserved seats ruling whose implementation could not be refused on the basis of the aforementioned act.

The petition requested clarification that the two letters by the speakers did not set out the correct constitutional and legal position, had no legal effect on the July verdict and were liable to be ignored by the ECP.

It further requested clarification that the ECP was bound to implemented the July verdict, especially after last week’s court order.

Lastly, the petition requested that the ECP “be restrained” from allocating the reserved seats to any other party till the determination of the current matter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic Nominee Kamala Harris next week and plans to see Donald Trump as he visits the United States to shore up support before November’s crucial presidential election.

Zelensky will be covering all political bases in what could be his last such visit before an election that could upend Washington’s policy of support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

The White House said Zelensky will have separate talks on September 26 with President Biden and with Vice President Harris, who is the Democratic nominee against Republican former president Trump. Zelensky has said he will share a “victory plan” with the US leaders to end the war with Russia.

“The president and vice president will emphasize their unshakeable commitment to stand with Ukraine until it prevails in this war,” Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden said separately that he was “looking forward to hosting my friend President Zelensky”. “During his visit, I’ll reaffirm America’s commitment to supporting Ukraine as it defends its freedom and independence,” Biden said.

The Ukrainian presidency said separately that Zelensky plans to meet “the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.” There was no immediate confirmation from Trump’s camp.

Both Ukraine and Nato allies have been fretting that Trump could loosen US support for Kyiv. Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, and refused to take sides on the war during a debate with Harris last week, saying only: “I want the war to stop.”

Zelensky has meanwhile been pressuring the Biden administration to let it fire Western-made long-range weapons into Russian territory.

Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer put off a decision on the issue last week, with Starmer saying they would discuss it further when they meet at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The Ukrainian leader said last week that he planned to discuss his victory plan with Biden “this month” and added on Wednesday that the plan was now “fully prepared.”

Zelensky has also said he aims to host another international peace summit outlining his vision to end the war in November, to which Russia will be invited.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for more than 30 months, with Ukraine now controlling parts of Russia’s Kursk region while Moscow presses an advance into eastern Ukraine.

An anchorperson for a private TV channel died in a road accident on Sharea Faisal late Sunday night, police said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza said the anchorperson, identified as 40-year-old Syed Abdullah Hassan, was driving a car when he struck a footpath near a traffic signal. Rescue services transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) South Sajid Sadozai attributed the incident to speeding, adding that the front part of the car was severely damaged.

Meanwhile, Senior Sindh Minister of Sindh Sharjeel Inam Memon expressed condolences to the family of late anchor Abdullah Hassan. According to a statement from the Sindh government, Inam visited the late anchorperson’s family.

“Hassan’s services in the field of journalism will be remembered,” Inam was quoted as saying in the statement.

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tesori also expressed his grief over the journalist’s death. Condoling the victim’s family, he said, “May Allah grant forgiveness to the deceased, high ranks and patience to the family, Ameen.”

Pakistan People’s Party Central Spokesperson Shazia Marri also expressed deep sorrow and regret over the fatal incident. She said that she shared in the family’s grief “In this time of sorrow and difficulty”.

In July, another journalist was killed after a fuel tank detached from a tanker and overturned on Karachi’s Baloch Colony flyover on Thursday, police and rescue services officials said.

Ahmed Nawaz Cheema, the Karachi Traffic Police (KTP) deputy inspector general (DIG), told Dawn.com that the incident caused the closure of both tracks of the busy road for hours till the afternoon.

He said that the traffic police received information at around 1:30am that a jet fuel tank, after detaching from a tanker due to a mechanical fault, had overturned and fallen on a passerby Suzuki Mehran car on the flyover, resulting in the death of its driver identified as Asad Abbas Zaidi.

A Rescue 1122 spokesperson identified the deceased with an ID card found on his person. He added that the deceased worked for a private TV channel.