Author: News Desk

Almost a year after the 26th Constitutional Amendment was presented and widely criticised by opposition circles, the government is finalising the draft of the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which is expected to be approved by the federal cabinet on Friday.

As members of opposition, legal community and rights groups express concerns over the amendment that the ruling alliance aims to get approved by both houses of the parliament by Nov 14, sources have revealed to The Current key points of the proposal, a public draft of which has not yet been made available.

Officials privy to the details said that the amendment involves issues of national interest and the process in this regard has been ongoing for quite some time. “It is not about the benefit or loss of any political party, and the Constitution is not a divine scripture that cannot be amended,” they said.

Responding to queries in light of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s tweet ahead of consultations, sources revealed that a central defence-related clause in the proposed amendment sought to enhance coordination among the country’s armed forces.

“It has been proposed to ensure rapid response to external threats, and on the basis of what we learnt from the recent Pakistan-India clashes,” they added when asked about the reported changes to Article 243 of the Constitution, which pertains to command of the armed forces.

Sources also confirmed judicial tweaks pertaining the establishment of Constitutional Courts with representation from all provinces, and the restoration of executive magistrates besides the transfer powers of judges to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

On changes proposed to the workings of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which determines provincial shares in national resources, sources did not confirm or deny the reservations of the government-allied PPP.

They also did not comment on the reported proposal seeking the return of education and population welfare ministries back to the federal list, reducing provincial control.

It may be noted that consensus for the passage of the amendment is crucial given the fragile coalition and frequently reported rifts between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the PPP and others.

While PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) is deliberating its stance, allied Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) is lobbying for local government reforms through the amendments. According to reports, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has assured the MQM-P of supporting its proposed amendments as a delegation comprising Sindh Governor Karam, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Farooq Sattar called on the premier at the PM House in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, critics are warning against “militarising the Constitution, weakening provincial autonomy and concentrating power in Islamabad”.

Karachi’s electronic traffic challan (e-challan) system has come under fire after a motorist was issued five separate fines worth Rs50,000 in a single day.

Reports quoted the citizen, Hakimullah, as saying that all five challans were generated on October 30.

Three of the challans were recorded at 12:03 pm in Mauripur while the fourth and fifth were issued ten minutes later at 12:13 pm in Hasan Square.

All fines were imposed for failing to wear a seatbelt, Hakimullah said, adding that he was left stunned after realising that paying them would cost him Rs50,000.

While traffic police officials confirmed that they have contacted the citizen and advised him to visit the facilitation center for his concern to be addressed, authorities have assured the people of Karachi that their challans will be reviewed with first violations waived off.

It may be noted that the port city, which is rather infamous for its traffic, got its own e-challan system last week.

With Karachi traffic police releasing data from the newly-launched system shortly after, it was revealed that more than 2,600 challans with Rs12.5 million in fines were issued within just six hours.

 
These included 419 for overspeeding, three for lane violations, four for stop-line violations, 1,535 for not wearing seatbelts, 166 for crossing red lights and 507 for riding motorcycles without helmets.

 
Four challans were issued for wrong-way driving on one-way streets, seven for tinted windows, five for wrong parking, 32 for using mobile phones while driving, three for driving in the wrong direction and another five for illegal or no-parking violations.

 
Officials said the e-challan system marks a major step forward in improving traffic monitoring and aims to encourage citizens to follow traffic rules.

 
While traffic police have urged citizens to cooperate, the system has for now landed in the midst of a controversy as opposition leaders and citizens question its legality.

The Sindh High Court has received a petition challenging the system, arguing that heavy fines are being imposed on residents without proper infrastructure or clear legal procedures.

The petitioners’ lawyer, Usman Farooq Advocate, told the court that e-challans are being sent to vehicle owners using CCTV cameras and artificial intelligence, regardless of who was actually driving at the time of the violation.

He said the system unfairly penalizes owners, not necessarily the real offenders.

The lawyer also highlighted poor road conditions in Karachi and across Sindh, noting the lack of speed limit signs and zebra crossings in many areas. He pointed out that ongoing development projects often force traffic police to direct vehicles onto the wrong side of the road.

Authorities have identified more than 250,000 fake Pakistani Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) allegedly obtained by a large number of Afghan nationals among others, prompting scrutiny by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

According to reports, officials identified the suspicious CNICs through a special verification software, which was followed by the revelation that most of the fake cardholders were Afghan citizens who had been added to the family trees of Pakistani residents.

The Afghan citizens, mainly linked to families living in Pishin, Chaman and Quetta, were reportedly charged heavy amounts by agents who facilitated them in obtaining the CNICs illegally.

Reports said that NADRA has already started blocking these fake CNICs, and individuals whose cards have been blocked have been instructed to visit NADRA offices for verification.

Authorities also warned that anyone who fails to verify their blocked card within the given deadline will have it permanently cancelled.

While the development has raised serious concerns about identity fraud, border security and the use of fake documents for criminal activities, this is not the first time NADRA has tightened its system against illegal identity cards.

Over the past several years, Pakistan has faced repeated challenges involving fake CNICs, especially in border regions where Afghan refugees have lived for decades.

In 2016, Pakistan launched one of its biggest CNIC verification drives after authorities discovered that thousands of non-Pakistani nationals, mainly Afghans, had been added to Pakistani family trees. NADRA carried out a nationwide re-verification campaign through SMS and data checks, which helped identify 86,380 illegal entries in family records. 

The interior ministry had also at the time confirmed that more than 450,000 suspicious or fake CNICs were blocked.

The crackdown also exposed corruption inside the authority. According to official reports at the time, 765 NADRA employees were dismissed for facilitating the issuance of fake identity cards, often in exchange for money.

A second major verification effort began in 2021 when NADRA introduced a new digital system to clean the national database.

The interior ministry had launched a family-tree verification drive using upgraded biometric and AI-supported tools. Through this system, millions of family records were reviewed and nearly 200,000 suspicious entries were detected across the country.

At that time, NADRA had encouraged citizens to use the 8009 SMS service to confirm or reject names appearing in their family tree, which helped remove many of the flagged entries.

After repeatedly reminding the world of Indian losses during May’s clashes with Pakistan, United States (US) President Donald Trump has revised the number of planes that were shot down, saying that the tally of the downed jets was “eight essentially”.

Pakistan and Indian in May this year engaged in intense military clashes – the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades – that were sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in held Kashmir.

With New Delhi blaming Islamabad for the attack and Pakistan repeatedly rubbishing the accusations while offering an independent probe, clashes broke out between the two countries over India’s unprovoked cross-border aggression.

During the standoff, Pakistan downed seven Indian fighter jets, including three state-of-the-art Rafale jets, and dozens of drones. After over 80 hours, the conflict came to an end on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.

With President Trump, every now and then, reminding the world how he played a key role in putting an end to the clashes, he has over the past several months repeatedly mentioned the loss of seven jets, which did not sit well with Indians.

He, however, took it up a notch on Wednesday when, while addressing the America Business Forum in Miami, President Trump said some newspapers had reported that seven or eight planes were shot down during the Pakistan-India war.

Trump added that one newspaper claimed seven aircraft were downed and another damaged.

“I won’t name any newspaper here — most of them publish false news,” Trump said, adding that, in fact, eight planes were shot down in the recent Pakistan-India war.

Recalling his efforts to end military clashes between the two neighbours, Trump said he was in the middle of signing a trade deal with Pakistan and India when he heard that both the neighbouring countries “were going to war” and it was then that he decided his administration would not make any deal with either country “if they are at war”.

“I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them. Then I read on the front page of a certain newspaper… they are going to war. Seven or eight planes were shot down. Eight planes were shot down essentially,” Trump told the business forum.

He recalled threatening to decline trade deals and said, “I got a call, they need peace. They stopped. I said thank you, let’s trade. Isn’t that great?.”

The statement comes less than a month after the US president said that “seven brand-new and beautiful planes were shot down” during the Pakistan-India war, highlighting New Delhi’s losses.