Islamabad, Sep 18 (PTI) Pakistan's right-wing politician and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday poured cold water on the purported constitutional amendment bill by terming it "unacceptable".
The 71-year-old JUI-F chief, who was talking to the media at the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser, said that the government shared a draft of the proposed amendment bill but his party dismissed it after review.
"Now they are claiming it wasn’t even their draft. What kind of game is being played,” he asked. He called the proposed draft as "unacceptable".
His remarks came after a flurry of activities and a meeting over the weekend by the leaders of the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to seek his support for amending the constitution.
Though no official draft of the changes was shared, reports said that the government aimed to tweak judiciary laws to appoint the new chief justice of its choice.
The incumbent Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa is set to retire next month and the senior-most judge, Mansoor Ali Shah, will succeed him as per the existing laws.
According to reliable sources, the government fears the independent-minded Shah who may reopen cases related to “purported fraud” in the February 8 general elections.
Rehman’s JUI-F with eight seats in the National Assembly and five senators in the Senate is in a decisive position to help the government pass the amendment.
After failing to get the support on Sunday, the government announced to delay the tabling of the proposed amendment to create consensus among various parties.
Senior leaders are still in contact with Rehman and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also met him on Wednesday, according to media reports.
However, the JUI-F chief, who remained non-committal in various meetings, eventually clarified that the proposed draft was not acceptable under any circumstances.
Earlier, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the constitutional amendments are not possible without the support of Rehman and urged for building a consensus with the JUI-F.
"Our effort is to create consensus and it is important to engage with Maulana Rehman. If he agrees, it won’t take more than a month or two to proceed,” Bilawal said.
Separately, a group of senior lawyers in a statement rejected the proposed amendment after a meeting. Advocate Hamid Khan said that they would not support any move to change the concept of seniority for the appointment of chief justice.
“Neither there is the occasion nor the environment for the said amendment,” he said, adding that Shah would be the next chief justice.
Reportedly, the government wants to change the constitution by inserting a new law that it would appoint the chief justice out of the five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
Information Minister Ata Tarar said that a new draft of the amendment is being prepared in consultation. “We are in contact with various stakeholders,” he said, adding that the government was moving forward on the issue.
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday rejected the anticipated constitutional changes, claiming that it was an effort to keep him in prison by controlling the judiciary.
The former cricketer-turned-politician made the remarks during an informal conversation with journalists at the Adiala Jail, where he has been lodged since August last year.
The PTI founder said that “the purpose of constitutional amendment is only to keep me in jail”. He added that the rulers have decided to sink the judiciary. “All this is being done to hide the election fraud.”