Overview
- The upper house passed the 59‑clause bill with 64 votes, clearing the two‑thirds bar as most opposition lawmakers walked out and protested.
- Key provisions replace the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee with a Chief of Defence Forces by revising Article 243 governing armed‑forces command.
- The amendment establishes a Federal Constitutional Court with equal provincial representation and one Islamabad High Court judge, and shifts certain constitutional matters to the new forum.
- Judicial changes include exercising suo motu jurisdiction on written applications, expanding the Judicial Commission to add a technocrat option, reducing High Court service for eligibility to five years, and automatically vacating year‑long interim stays in revenue cases.
- A controversial plan for lifelong presidential immunity was withdrawn, with revised language limiting protection to the term and suspending it if a former president holds public office, as the bill is tabled in the National Assembly where 224 votes are required and the coalition claims about 237.