Entertainment
President Zardari assents 27th Constitutional Amendment to law after parliament’s approval
- President gives assent to bill on PM’s advice.
- Assent given to bill after nod from both houses.
- Senate greenlights bill after changes by NA.
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday gave assent to the much-debated 27th Constitutional Amendment after approval from the Parliament.
With the president’s signature, the amendment has now officially become part of the Constitution.
“The Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2025 is assented to, as advised by the Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif], at Para-5 of the Summary,” read a notification issued by the President’s House.
The development came moments after the Senate approved the amendment bill following changes approved by the National Assembly a day earlier, amid noisy protests by the opposition.
Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the constitutional amendment bill today, with the tweaks to the draft earlier approved by the upper house. The amendment bill received 64 votes (two-thirds majority in the 96-member House) in favour and four against.
Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani announced the result, saying: “So the motion is carried by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Senate, and consequently, the bill stands passed.”
The much-touted bill was initially presented in the upper house of parliament on Monday and got a nod on the same day. It was then referred to the NA, which approved it with some amendments. Therefore, the legislation was again presented in the Senate today to approve the latest changes.
New tweaks
A day earlier, the National Assembly passed the amendment bill that seeks to change the judicial structure and military command, with 234 votes in favour and four against amid the opposition’s walkout. It included eight amendments — not part of the Senate-approved previous version — aimed at clarifying the chief justice’s position.
The amended bill fine-tunes the structure of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), clarifies the titles and ranking of the country’s top judges, and drops several clauses from the Senate-approved draft that had sought to alter oath-related provisions for various constitutional offices.
One of the most significant updates relates to Clause 2, which modifies Article 6(2A) of the Constitution — the article concerning high treason. The National Assembly’s version adds the term “Federal Constitutional Court” after “the”, thereby explicitly including the new court within the ambit of Article 6. The earlier Senate draft had not mentioned the court by name.
The lower house also introduced a fresh Clause 2A to amend Article 10(4), which deals with preventive detention. This revision adds the words “Supreme Court” within the explanatory portion of that article.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly deleted several provisions that had appeared in the Senate’s version. Clauses 4, 19, 51, and 55 — which collectively proposed to modify the wording of oaths administered to a range of constitutional officeholders — were removed from the final text.
Clause 4 had aimed to revise Article 42, under which the president takes the oath of office before the Chief Justice of Pakistan, by substituting the phrase “Chief Justice of Pakistan” with “Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court.”
Likewise, Clause 19 proposed changes to Article 168, which regulates the appointment and oath of the Auditor General of Pakistan. It would have added the term “Supreme Court” before “Chief Justice of Pakistan,” thereby slightly altering the formal oath text.
Clause 51 mirrored this approach for Article 214, which requires the Chief Election Commissioner to take the oath before the Chief Justice. The Senate draft suggested replacing this with “Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court.”
Similarly, Clause 55 sought to amend Article 255(2), which applies in cases where an oath cannot be administered before the designated official. At present, the Chief Justice of Pakistan can nominate another person; the Senate version proposed transferring this authority to the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court.
All of these oath-related proposals were ultimately omitted by the National Assembly.
Another key modification came in Clause 23, which amends Article 176 to include a proviso specifying that, “notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, the incumbent Chief Justice shall continue to be known as the Chief Justice of Pakistan during his term in office.”
A further addition was made under Clause 56, which now defines the “Chief Justice of Pakistan” as “the senior among the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” thereby establishing a formal hierarchy between the two judicial heads.
The multi-clause amendment bill required a two-thirds majority in the 336-member House. The ruling coalition easily secured the required votes, with the PML-N holding 125 seats, the PPP 74, the MQM-P 22, the PML-Q four, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party four, and one seat each held by the PML-Z, the Balochistan Awami Party, and the National Peoples Party.
However, four members from the JUI-F, once a close ally of the ruling PML-N, were the only lawmakers to register their votes against the amendments.
Two popular leaders have formed an alliance ahead of March parliamentary elections in Nepal that will challenge the older parties, which have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for over three decades, party officials and analysts said on Monday.
Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday, party officials said.
They said under the agreement with RSP, 35-year-old Balen will become the prime minister if the RSP wins the March 5 elections, while Lamichhane will remain the party chief.
Both have vowed to address the demands raised during the “Gen Z” or youth-led protests against widespread corruption in September, in which 77 people were killed and leading to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s resignation.
“It is a very smart and strategic move by the RSP to bring in Balen and his young supporters into its fold,” analyst Bipin Adhikari said.
“Traditional political parties are in pain for fear of losing their young voters to RSP,” he said.
The election commission says nearly 19 million of Nepal’s 30 million people are eligible to vote in the elections. Nearly one million voters – mostly youths – were added after the protests.
Balen was in the spotlight after the protests and was an undeclared leader of the youngsters who led the September protests.
He also helped form the interim government of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to oversee the vote.
Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or UML and the centrist Nepali Congress party have shared power between them for most of the past three decades and are most likely to be challenged by Balen.
Search titan Google has reportedly retreated its recently introduced portrait-related setting for the Pixel phones’ Phone app, meant to enhance user control over portrait effects during phone calls.
Initially designed exclusively for the Google Phone app on Pixel devices, this feature was part of Google’s efforts to improve user experience through software updates rather than hardware changes.
The feature was slated to gradually roll out via a server-side update for Pixel phones equipped with advanced computational photography and AI-driven camera capabilities. By extending portrait effects from photography and video into calling features, Google aimed to enhance visual clarity during communication.
With the new portrait setting, users could have managed portrait behaviour more effectively during calls, being able to activate or deactivate portrait processing instead of relying solely on automatic settings.
This functionality was particularly beneficial for those who frequently switched between voice and video calls, ensuring consistency and reducing unexpected visual effects.
Regardless, the rollback means that Pixel users will no longer have access to this feature, which was aligned with Google’s goal of enhancing the Phone app through AI-powered tools like Call Screen and improved spam detection.
As video calls have become more common than ever, the ability to control camera behaviour during calls is essential, but unfortunately, Google appears to have reconsidered its approach.
The decision to retract the feature reflects ongoing adjustments to Google’s strategy, as the company evaluates user feedback and the overall impact of such functionalities in the competitive landscape of communication technology.
- Rajab Butt faces case registered against him at Hyderi Police Station.
- Assault by lawyers leave YouTuber with torn shirt, bloodied mouth.
- Lawyers say Butt spoke against them in a vlog after last appearance.
KARACHI: YouTuber Rajab Butt was assaulted following an appearance at an additional district and sessions court in Karachi in a case related to controversial statement.
Appearing before the city court along with TikToker Nadeem Mubarak, alias Naniwaala, in relation to a bail plea, Butt was subjected to assault by lawyers, which left him with a bloodied mouth and torn shirt.
The lawyers claimed that the YouTuber had made “derogatory remarks” against them in a vlog after his previous appearance before the court, where he said that the one who filed a case against me “does not seem like a lawyer”.
Butt has been named in a case registered against him at the Hyderi Police Station by Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi related to controversial remarks.
Confirming the incident, the YouTuber’s counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq said that some lawyers had attacked his client and continued to beat him and injured him within the court premises.
“This is an unfortunate thing that has no place in any educated society,” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, during the hearing today, the court extended Butt’s interim bail till January 13, 2026 and adjourned the case over his bail plea till the same date.
Apart from the controversial speech case, Butt is also booked in another case, facing charges of promoting gambling and betting applications.
Earlier this month, the YouTuber, along with TikToker Naniwala secured a transit bail from the Islamabad High Court after their return to the country from the UK, from where the former was deported as his visa was revoked.
The duo then also got interim bail from a sessions court in Lahore on December 15.
The European Union year-end review 2025: An ally bears the brunt
Nepal’s former rapper to run for PM in key vote after Gen Z protests
China GDP growth seen at 4.3% in 2026 amid moderating export momentum
-
Sports1 week ago
Alabama turned Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff dream into a nightmare
-
Entertainment1 week agoRare look inside the secret LEGO Museum reveals the system behind a toy giant’s remarkable longevity
-
Entertainment1 week agoIndia drops Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup squad
-
Tech1 week agoWe Tried and Tested the Best Gifts for Plant Lovers With Our Own Green Thumbs
-
Sports2 days agoBrooks Koepka should face penalty if he rejoins PGA Tour, golf pundit says
-
Politics1 week agoUS intercepts oil tanker off Venezuelan coast, Reports
-
Sports1 week agoPatriots vs. Ravens (Dec 21, 2025) Live Score – ESPN
-
Business1 week agoNeptune Logitek Shares List At 26% Discount, IPO Investors Suffer Nearly Rs 30,000 Losses