Dinner debates on constitutional amendments in Pakistan end in stalemate
Late night dinner huddle at Sharif's residence fail to woo Maulana Fazlur Rehman, fate of amendments hang in balance

A four-hour dinner party at Jati Umra, the ruling Sharif's residence in Pakistan's northeastern city of Lahore, aimed at winning support over a controversial "judicial reform package" ended in vain.
The country's top leadership, ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gathered on Wednesday to discuss constitutional amendments, which have created fissures in the national political landscape.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other senior ministers were also present at the dinner.
All of them were trying to woo Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), one of the largest religious parties in the country.
The proposed changes include the creation of constitutional courts and revised procedures for appointing judges.
The meeting was hosted by the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif.
With only eight seats in the National Assembly – the lower house of parliament - Maulana's party has emerged as the kingmaker. Without his support, the ruling coalition does not have enough numbers to pass the amendment.
Conflicting accounts
After midnight, a trio representing three different parties, Bilawal, Dar, and Maulana, spoke to reporters.
Maulana said that he would meet estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf representatives whose founder Imran Khan is in jail. Their input will be incorporated into the constitutional amendments, he said.
However, Maulana said that he is maintaining his previous stance and rejecting the initial draft proposed by the government.
But the ruling coalition's remarks have created some confusion. It seemed like they all went to watch the same movie, but came out with different reviews.
Bilawal thanked Maulana and said the three political parties have reached a consensus.
"We seek the supremacy of the Constitution through constitutional courts and demand swift justice," said Bilawal, who also heads the Pakistan People's Party, one of the key ruling coalition partners.
"At an appropriate time, we will ensure the proposed amendment is passed by both houses of parliament," he added.
Dar echoed his view. "The three parties have agreed on the judicial reforms in constitutional amendment. And, consensus will be achieved on other proposed amendments in the coming days," Dar told reporters.
But if consensus was reached, why was a crucial Cabinet meeting planned for Thursday prior to introducing the amendment in Parliament postponed?
Push continues for approval of amendments
Sources had indicated a day earlier that the proposed constitutional amendments were to first receive the Cabinet's nod before being presented to the National Assembly and Senate for final approval.
But as night fell, plans were hurriedly changed.
While the lower and upper house sessions were still on, the 10-point agenda issued last night for Thursday's National Assembly session did not include any items related to the constitutional amendments.
According to a statement from the President's House, President Asif Ali Zardari convened both legislative bodies. The National Assembly is to meet at 4:00 p.m, while the Senate session is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
The government had called these urgent sessions to move forward with the proposed amendments just as the high-level Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) meeting concluded and the visiting foreign dignitaries left.
Efforts have been on to pass the divisive constitutional amendments for the past month. The first attempt came on the weekend of Sept. 15. However, in its first attempt, the long-awaited assembly session to present the constitutional bill started at 11.06 PM, and was adjourned shortly after for the next day after consensus eluded lawmakers.
Since then, stakeholders have met for several in-camera sessions of the special parliamentary committee for the constitutional amendments at Parliament House.
Maulana's JUI-F has submitted a 24-point draft tracking changes in the proposed amendment, whereas the PPP and MQM-P have also submitted their respective drafts.
The JUI-F's draft proposed that constitutional matters be overseen by a Supreme Court bench made up of the most senior judges, rather than creating a separate constitutional court.
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