Amendment bill to be approved with complete numbers: Chairman Senate

Karachi: Chairman Senate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Saturday said that the constitutional amendment bill will be approved if the numbers are complete.

Talking to journalists outside the Federal Anti-Corruption Court in Karachi, he stated that all political forces should think together for the country.

He added that there is no need to worry, the numbers will be complete, then the bill will be presented and the amendment will be passed. The elections are not the solution to the current situation as it will create more problems.

Gilani further said that the people who made a case against him, today we are here for two votes. If we go, it will be passed, we have a big heart and today we are going to vote for them. We have to think of the country apart from ourselves.

When asked about the Governor's rule, Syed Yusuf Raza said that he is not in favor of it. It will be according to the requirements of the time that what decision is taken and it is not the job of the Senate Chairman but the government to decide.

He said that if the people are satisfied with the current situation in the country, then we are also with them.

It is pertinent to note that the 26th constitutional amendment is likely to be tabled in today's session of the National Assembly. The proposed legislation requires 224 votes in the National Assembly while the ruling alliance has 12 fewer votes. If the Jamat-e-Ulema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Fazal Rehman in the leadership supports the proposed legislation, then the government will need four to five more votes.

The opposition parties have a total of 91 seats in the National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Etihad Council (SIC) 80, JUI-F eight while Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP), Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM), and Pashtunkhawa Milli Awami Party have one seat each.