Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to meet with delegations from allied parties today, with the aim of gaining their support for the 27th Constitutional Amendment. According to sources, during the meeting, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar will brief the members of the allied parties about the amendment, and a discussion will be held on it.
The meeting is also expected to touch upon the Pakistan-Afghanistan situation, with consultations on the country's foreign policy in this regard.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is holding a Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting today in Karachi, where they will be briefed on the government's draft of the constitutional amendment. Sources indicate that the PPP has raised five key concerns regarding the 27th Amendment, the most significant of which include ensuring that the provinces' share is not reduced below 57%, maintaining provincial autonomy, and rejecting the proposal for a unified national curriculum.
On the other hand, opposition meetings are also ongoing to discuss the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Under the leadership of designated opposition leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Asad Qaiser and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas met with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss the amendment. The purpose of this meeting is to strengthen the opposition alliance and adopt a unified stance on the amendment.
It is important to note that for the approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment in Parliament, 224 votes are required in the National Assembly. The current government coalition, including the PPP, has the support of 237 members—125 from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), 74 from the PPP, 22 from the MQM, 5 from the Q League, and 4 from the IPP, as well as support from one member each of the Muslim League-Zia, Balochistan Awami Party, and National Party, and four independent members.
In contrast, the opposition has 89 members in the National Assembly, including 75 independent members and 10 from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), as well as one member each from the Sunni Ittehad Council, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, Balochistan National Party-Mengal, and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.