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LAHORE – PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held an important meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here on Sunday to discuss the remaining points of the 26th constitutional amendment, which will be addressed in the upcoming 27th amendment if the major stakeholders succeed to achieve consensus.
Bilawal was heading a delegation of the party that included Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Punjab Governor Punjab Sardar Salim Haider, Syed Naveed Qamar and Murtaza Wahab. Rana Sanaullah, Azam Nazir Tarar and Attorney General Mansoor Awan were with the prime minister during the meeting.
Insiders said that the meeting reached an agreement to advance the 27th constitutional amendment in consultation with the JUI-F led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman and MQM Pakistan. It was also decided to revive the parliamentary committee headed by senior PPP leader Syed Khurshid Shah to restart consultations with parliamentary parties regarding the new constitutional amendment.
Following the meeting, Advisor to the PM and former Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, who was part of the meeting, sought to downplay the discussions between the PPP and the PML-N saying that the 27th amendment was not discussed at all. “I was present in the meeting; there was no agreement regarding the 27th amendment. However, various other issues of different natures were discussed,” Rana Sana told a news channel.
The sources, however, disclosed that the 27th amendment was discussed in the meeting which aims to address provincial rights and incorporate the remaining points from the 26th amendment by achieving consensus among all major stakeholders. While Rana Sanaullah stated that the proposed 27th amendment was not focused on the unfinished agenda of the 26th amendment, he did acknowledge that the leadership of both the parties agreed to continue efforts to reach consensus on the outstanding points of the previous amendment.
Reflecting on earlier discussions regarding the 26th amendment, Rana Sana noted that the MQM had sought to include certain points related to local government institutions but it could not be done due to a lack of consensus. He further explained that the MQM had proposed an amendment to Article 140-A of the Constitution to facilitate the transfer of financial resources from provinces to districts based on a resource distribution formula between the centre and the provinces.
It merits mention here that Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who played a pivotal role in the passage of the 26th amendment, has recently emphasized that his party would staunchly oppose any attempts to reintroduce the controversial points from the last amendment. “No one should even consider bringing back the points we had rejected. We will not allow this to happen in any way,” he asserted at a party rally last Friday.
Also, much like the PML-N leader Rana Sana Ullah, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also chose to understate his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In response to a question about his meeting with the PM and how he convinced Maulana Fazl to support the constitutional amendment, Bilawal said: “I came here for the polo match, and I will only talk about the polo match. Ask me today about how beautiful the horses were in the polo match. I also informed the prime minister that I am going to the polo match.”
Talking about the 26th constitutional amendment, Bilawal said that the pathway to sending prime ministers home will be blocked under the new scheme of things.
According to a media release issued by the PPP, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated in the meeting that the PPP is an important coalition partner which supported every step taken by the government for the stability of the national economy. The PPP delegation expressed complete confidence in the government’s policies and actions.