A federal cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on Friday to approve draft of 27th constitutional amendment has been postponed, and new time for the session will be announced later. All the federal ministers have been informed about the postponement of the meeting. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier called the cabinet meeting for Friday at 9:45 am in the Parliament House, where the draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment was to be presented for approval.

Following cabinet approval, the amendment bill was scheduled to be tabled in the Senate. All cabinet members had been directed to attend the meeting. Sources said that after the approval of the 27th amendment bill in the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was expected to leave for Baku.

The deferment of the cabinet meeting came apparently after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed his party’s disagreement with certain proposed clauses of the 27th Constitutional Amendment during a media talk following the PPP Central Executive Council’s (CEC) meeting last night in Karachi. Speaking to the media, Bilawal said the PPP had rejected the proposed constitutional amendment related to the National Finance Commission (NFC).

He said his party disagreed with any move that would diminish the provinces’ share and added that the PPP would never accept the removal of the constitutional protection granted to the NFC Award. Bilawal also stressed that all four provinces should have equal representation in the proposed constitutional court. However, he said the PPP would support the amendment concerning the conferral of the Field Marshal’s position and expressed support for the proposed change in Article 243.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)