Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the party would support amendments to Article 243, which defines the powers of the armed forces, in the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment.

Addressing the media following the conclusion of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, Bilawal said the moot debated the matter of constitutional courts for two days and the party “agrees in principle with the idea that constitutional courts should be formed”.

“In the 27th Amendment, the amendment to (article) 243 must be accepted.”

The party chairperson added that “unfinished agenda items” from the Charter of Democracy were also discussed.

“We will engage with the government and see which other points we can reach a consensus on,” said Bilawal. He added that if a consensus can be reached with the incumbent government on agenda items not fulfilled under the Charter of Democracy, “it would be a welcome step”.

Bilawal further said that they are giving their suggestions to the government on the matter of the transfer of judges as proposed under the 27th Amendment.

“The government’s suggestion is to do away with the consultation (with the president) and leave the decision (transferring judges) with the parliamentary committee.”

He stated that the PPP feels that the better approach would be that the “president initiates the transfer” and if we “want to give the judicial commission the role, then fair enough”. “It is a forum where serious debate can take place and the chief justices and senior judiciary are present.”

Addressing the issue of dual nationality, the PPP chairman said he was “not in a position to vote on this right now”, hinting that the party is divided on the issue.

“In conclusion, there are mainly three points in the constitutional amendment that the PPP is considering supporting, the amendment to (article) 243, constitutional courts in the context of the government having conversations with us about what other aspects of the Charter of Democracy they are willing to implement at this time and the transfer of judges as long as the incoming and outgoing chief justices are members of the commission.”

Fielding questions from reporters, the PPP chairman said that amendments to Article 243 must be accepted.

“The question of forming constitutional courts, along with the other provisions of the Charter of Democracy, will be accepted,” Bilawal said. “With the votes of the incoming and outgoing CJ, along with the judicial commission, if the PML-N agrees with it, then we will accept this, and the PPP will vote on it.”

He also reiterated the PPP’s position on the NFC award, stating that they will oppose any attempt to reduce the shares given to provinces.

“What has come under discussion is the PML-N’s proposal to remove the protection of provincial governments from the NFC. This protects all provinces and the PPP gave its response to it yesterday,” Bilawal stated.

“The Constitution says that the NFC share can only grow, not reduce,” he explained. “The PPP will defend this. Until we are in this parliament, we are not ready to accept that. We are ready to accept other amendments.”

Speaking about local bodies, Bilawal said that the PPP is “paying attention” and noted that the party brought about the protections granted to them by the Constitution.

“If you perform an impartial analysis of the local body legislation in the four provinces … most political, administrative and financial autonomy is in Sindh,” he said. “When the PML-N approached us about the 27th Amendment, they did not discuss local bodies with us, but we want to see local bodies that are strong.”

The party chairman also highlighted legislation passed by the Punjab Assembly that abolished the office of mayor.

“If we did that, what would your reaction be?” he asked reporters.

“Every province has its own context, but the strongest local body system is in Sindh,” he reiterated. “It is always working to do better and we are happy to talk to anyone who sees improvement in our local bodies.”

Earlier today, the PPP appeared divided over the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment but signalled support for changes to Article 243.

Last night, the party indicated conditional support for limited amendments to Article 243 governing federal control of the armed forces.

Announcing decisions of the party’s CEC at Bilawal House late on Thursday night, PPP Chairman Bil­awal Bhutto-Zardari said discussions on the government’s proposed constitutional changes would continue on Friday but stressed the PPP “can never compromise on the financial rights of the provinces”.

PPP insiders told Dawn that today’s meeting began after Friday prayers and is ongoing. They said that, except for the proposed amendments to Article 243, none of the other proposals have been agreed upon.

They added that the party will support the proposed amendment to the constitutional courts if provinces receive equal representation. Proposals related to the provincial share of the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and federalising education — which was devolved to provinces — were rejected.