28th Constitutional Amendment Could Be Brought Before January 15: Fawad Chaudhry
A referendum is being considered before the constitutional amendment, with public approval potentially used to support it; the former federal minister said the PML-N is not standing behind the PPP on the issue.
ISLAMABAD, (Pakistan Point News - 12th Nov, 2026) Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that the constitutional amendment issue will not go beyond January 15 and that significant progress is expected before then. In an interview, he said a proposal to hold a referendum before the amendment is under consideration, and public approval obtained through it could be used to support the constitutional amendment.
Chaudhry said that, based on his conversations with people and colleagues so far, the process for the 28th Constitutional Amendment would not go beyond January 15 and would be completed before that date. He said two groups of lawyers are working on the amendment: one led by Farogh Naseem and the other by former Attorney General Mansoor Awan.
He said a proposal to hold a referendum first on the establishment of new provinces is also under discussion. Approval obtained through a referendum could help bring the Assembly around to a constitutional amendment; otherwise, the matter could also be taken to the Federal Constitutional Court.
Chaudhry said he believes neither the PML-N nor the Pakistan Peoples Party is currently ready for the move. Referring to differences between the political parties, he said the PPP’s position appeared aggressive toward the PML-N. The PML-N’s approach, however, was to let the PPP continue presenting its position while standing behind it.
He said it remained to be seen whether the proposed constitutional measure would be stopped like the canal project or whether the establishment would this time play a major role in governance in the country.
Asked about rumours concerning a change in the Punjab chief minister, the former federal minister said Maryam Nawaz was a very strong woman who had also fought her father’s battles, and that she deserved credit. But, he said, given the aggressive stance she had taken regarding Chaudhry Salik Hussain, there might be more behind it.
He said her recent statements had made clear that she believed conspiracies were being hatched against her by a group of capitalists and that she was standing against them.
He said it remained to be seen how the Sharif family would handle the matter, but that, as far as Punjab was concerned, “the stage is set.”