National Assembly adjourned after uproar over 27th Amendment

The National Assembly convened as the Senate cleared the 27th Constitutional Amendment, but proceedings quickly descended into shouting matches and procedural objections, forcing the chair to adjourn the sitting until 11am the next day.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf defended the amendment as a long-overdue step and revisited unmet promises he said were made during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. He argued the reform would strengthen the country's institutions rather than benefit any single officeholder.

Lawmakers from the opposition benches pushed back. JUI-F MNA Aliya Kamran decried what she called a rushed process that sidestepped parliamentary consultation and rules, claiming too many constitutional articles were being altered without adequate debate. PTI's Sher Afzal Marwat echoed calls for a fuller discussion before any vote.

Former NA speaker Asad Qaiser questioned the safeguards around judicial independence, asking how justice would be ensured if the head of the new constitutional court were selected by the executive. Federal Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi responded that national security would not be compromised and described the reform push as aligned with public interest.

The tumult came as the Senate approved the 27th Amendment with the two-thirds majority required, a milestone that triggered an opposition walkout and tore-up copies of the bill in protest. The package is pitched as a structural reset of military command and the judiciary, including curbs on some Supreme Court powers and the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court.

With tempers still high and order repeatedly breaking down, the chair ended the session and postponed further debate until tomorrow.