Opposition announces to challenge electoral amendments, other bills in Supreme Court

On the other hand, the PTI-led government sought reconciliation, asking the Opposition benches it to come to the negotiating table.

The Imran-led government successfully passed amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, allowing use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and giving the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis, via The Elections Second Amendment Bill, 2021.

The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2021, which allows the right to review and reconsideration to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, was also passed in the Parliament.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, speaking to media outside Parliament, said legislation was bulldozed today and NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had "crushed" the parliamentary traditions.

"Today is a black day in parliament's history," he observed.

Shehbaz explained that the rules for a joint session stated that the government needed around 222 votes to pass a law and it didn't have the required votes today.

Referring to the pandemonium in the joint session, he said the opposition cited references from the law and Constitution to show that the government did not have the required number of votes to pass the amendments.

Talking to media after the opposition walked out from the session in protest, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari battered the the government for bulldozing amendments and said the opposition would raise a voice against the move on all relevant forums.

"The entire nation must be informed that the government didn't win but lost during the joint session today," he said.

Bilawal elaborated there were separate rules for a joint session of parliament and a normal session.

JUI-F's Maulana Asad Mehmood slammed the NA speaker and said the manner in which parliamentary proceedings had been conducted was never witnessed before.