Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday rubbished the notion that the status of incarcerated former premier Imran Khan had any bearing on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s withdrawal of proposed immunity for the top office as part of the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

Government senators Anusha Rahman and Khalil Tahir Sandhu had tabled a proposal for the 27th Amendment bill to extend the immunity currently enjoyed by the president under Article 248 of the Constitution to include the prime minister. The clause sought to extend presidential immunity to the prime minister, effectively barring criminal proceedings against the premier during the term in office.

Article 248 of the Constitution stipulates that “no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court during his term of office”.

However, PM Shehbaz had ordered the clause’s withdrawal on Sunday, saying that the premier must remain “fully accountable”. Separately, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said that PM Shehbaz told him earlier that “he had no interest in getting immunity”, owing to the executive nature of his role as the prime minister.

Questioned in an interview on Geo News show ‘Capital Talk’ today about speculation that the clause was withdrawn because it could potentially benefit the PTI founder, Sanaullah said: “No. If we had intended to do this, we could also have done it in a way that the benefit would apply only from today.”

Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9 protests. He served as the prime minister from August 2018 till April 2022, when he was ousted through a vote of no-confidence.

He said the prime minister made a very “democratic” decision and he should be congratulated for it.

The premier’s aide added that the premier’s office was not a constitutional one but an executive and elected office, thus “it should remain answerable to the people”.

PM Shehbaz was elected as the 24th premier of Pakistan in the 2024 general elections. Article 95 of the Constitution of Pakistan allows for a prime minister to be impeached via a no-confidence motion.

It states: “A resolution for a vote of no-confidence moved by not less than twenty per centum of the total membership of the National Assembly may be passed against the Prime Minister by the National Assembly.”

Issue of immunity

Discussion also veered towards a post on X by renowned Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, a former judge of the Federal Shariat Court, against immunity for anyone.

“In our Constitution, previously, the president was granted protection during their tenure, which was against Islam. Now, granting anyone such protection for life is completely against the spirit of Sharia and the Constitution, and would be extremely shameful for the country … A heartfelt request to the members of Parliament is that they should not take this sin upon themselves.”

Questioned about the senior scholar’s post, Sanaullah instead asked whether such immunity was not already present for the president, or was it being granted for the first time. He said the immunity would end if the president again accepted any public office.

He said the president enjoyed immunity in his term of office since 1973 and such was the case for other heads of state around the world as well.