Wary of 'match-fixing', Fazl accepts SC ruling on rebel MPs as constitutional package looms

ISLAMABAD: Hours after the Supreme Court annulled its 2022 verdict on the interpretation of Article 63(A) of the Constitution, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said he accepts the verdict but warned against any ‘match-fixing’ amid the government’s efforts to pass judiciary-centric constitutional package.

Deemed a major win for ruling coalition, the apex court unanimously accepted a review petition against its 2022 verdict related to the defection clause, which barred lawmakers from going against party directions when voting in parliament.

In its May 17, 2022 verdict, the SC — via 3-2 judgment — ruled that votes cast contrary to the parliamentary party lines in four instances outlined in Article 63(A) should not be counted.

These four instances are the election of prime minister and chief minister; a vote of confidence or no-confidence; a Constitution amendment bill; and a money bill.

Three judges — then-CJP Umar Ata Bandial, then Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar — had voted in favour whereas Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel were the dissenting judges.

Today’s verdict, pronounced by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, means that in any future legislation, the votes of parliamentarians who deviated from their party's directives and policies will be counted.

“We accept the court's ruling, but there should be no match-fixing […] It should not become a mean of buying or selling,” the JUI-F chief said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday.

In response to a question regarding potential horse-trading ahead of constitutional package, Maulana Fazl said that not a single member of his parliamentary party has ever resorted to “floor crossing” in national and provincial assemblies.

Meanwhile, the veteran politician also asked the government, which he believes isn’t true representation of the people, to defer the tabling of constitutional amendment ahead of all-important upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, scheduled for October 15 and 16 in Islamabad.

In July this year, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had elaborated on details of the upcoming SCO moot, saying there would be a ministerial meeting and multiple rounds of senior officials’ meetings to concentrate on fostering cooperation in finance, economics, socio-cultural affairs and humanitarian efforts among member states.

“Internal and political differences should be set aside for the time being,” Fazl said, also asking the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to postpone its anti-government protests.

However, he clarified, his party has no intention of put its weight behind the government’s proposed judicial package at any cost. “No legislation was made on any of our recommendations,” he regretted.

Questioning the government’s urgency in tabling the constitutional package, the JUI-F chief said they waited for almost nine months for the passage of 18th Amendment.

“Today, they [the government] are insisting on amending the Constitution within 24 hours,” he said, adding that in its current state with its details and rules, the bill was incapable of “being passed and supported”.

Furthermore, Fazl noted that no progress was made for an Islamic legislation, noting that the matter related to registration of madrassahs was still unresolved.

Responding to a question, the politician said JUI-F and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have decided to separately chalk out constitutional amendment drafts and try to achieve a consensus.

A day earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui said the constitutional amendment proposed by the government was amended with the consent of Maulana Fazl.

“Maulana Fazlur Rahman informed me about his reservations regarding the amendment. He has no objection on formation of the constitutional court as well as the amendment’s basic points,” he said while speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath'.

Last month, the coalition government made a futile attempt to pass a ‘closely-guarded’ constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

However, the government failed to even table the amendments in parliament after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman refused to support the government's judicial package, leaving the contentious amendments hanging in the balance.

Ostensibly, the government was short of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate as the said legislation requires a two-thirds majority in both houses.