Qureshi raises concerns with Bilawal over constitutional package

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi has written a letter to Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto, raising concerns about the proposed constitutional package.

In the letter from the Kot Lakhpat jail, the former foreign minister urged Bilawal Bhutto ‘to follow in the footsteps of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and take all the stakeholders on board on the matter.

He ‘requested Bilawal Bhutto Zardari not to bulldoze the supremacy of the Parliament by bringing the 26th Constitutional Amendment in Parliament without consensus’.

Qureshi praised PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's patience and flexibility, which helped deliver Pakistan's unanimous Constitution in 1973.

Qureshi reminded Bilawal that the 18th Constitutional Amendment, while time-consuming, earned widespread acceptability and praise due to the inclusive process it underwent.

He urged Bilawal not to abandon the principles of the rule of law and instead consider the concerns raised by various stakeholders.

Qureshi cited his experience working with Bilawal’s mother Benazir Bhutto to restore democracy in Pakistan.

He stressed that the PPP chief must realize that one federation unit, ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is not fully represented in the Senate and the House is not complete’.

“Please listen to the legal community and civil society at large. e is genuinely concerned about the independence of the judiciary. Consider the constitutional package as an attack on our judiciary.”