Pakistan Government Moves to Secure Votes for 27th Constitutional Amendment

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has approved the draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which is set to be tabled in the Senate today. The government now faces the critical task of securing a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament to ensure its passage.

Under the Constitution, any amendment requires the approval of at least two-thirds of members in both the National Assembly and the Senate. This means the government needs 224 votes in the National Assembly and 64 votes in the Senate.

According to the current composition of the Senate, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is the largest group on the treasury benches with 26 senators, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 20, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) with 4, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) with 3, and one senator each from the National Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Q). In addition, there are three independent senators — Abdul Karim, Abdul Qadir, and Mohsin Naqvi — who support the government.

Three other senators — Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Asad Qasim, and Faisal Vawda — are not formally aligned with either the government or opposition but have consistently voted with the government. This brings the total government support to 61 senators.

On the opposition benches, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) holds 14 seats, alongside 6 independents aligned with it. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has 7 senators, while the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) each have one.

If independent senator Naseema Ehsan and the three Awami National Party (ANP) senators — who voted in favor of the government during the previous 26th Amendment — once again extend their support, the government could potentially secure 65 votes, just one above the two-thirds threshold.

The upcoming Senate session will thus be a decisive moment for the Shehbaz Sharif-led government, as the proposed constitutional changes are expected to have significant political and administrative implications for Pakistan’s governance structure.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar confirmed that the bill would be presented in the Senate today, marking a major step in the government’s legislative agenda