Fawad Chaudhry Claims Constitutional Amendment May Come Before January 15

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that the constitutional amendment issue will not extend beyond 15 January, and that significant progress on it is expected before then.

In an interview, Chaudhry said that a proposal to hold a referendum first is under consideration, and that the public approval obtained through it could be used for the constitutional amendment.

According to him, those he has spoken to indicate that the amendment will be made before 15 January. He said two groups of lawyers are working on the constitutional amendment: one led by Farogh Naseem and the other by former attorney general Mansoor Awan.

A proposal to hold a referendum first on the creation of new provinces is also under discussion. He said that approval obtained from a referendum could help bring the Assembly towards the constitutional amendment; otherwise, the matter could be taken to the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).

Chaudhry believes that neither the PML-N nor the PPP is ready for this step at present. He said the PPP’s stance appears aggressive towards the PML-N, while the PML-N’s attitude is that the PPP may keep presenting its position, but it stands behind it.

He said it remains to be seen whether the proposed constitutional move will also be halted, as the canal project was.

On rumours about a change of Punjab chief minister, the former minister said that Maryam Nawaz is a very strong woman who has fought her father’s battle too, and that she deserves credit.

Regarding her aggressive stance towards Chaudhry Salik Hussain, he asked whether this issue was the only reason behind it. He noted that Maryam Nawaz has made clear in recent statements that conspiracies are being hatched against her by a group of businessmen, and that she is standing against them.

He added that it now remains to be seen how the Sharif family handles the matter, but that as far as Punjab is concerned, it is clear that a political fair has been set up there.