Khuhro Calls Debate on Proposed 28th Amendment ‘Premature’

• Suggested slug: khuhro-28th-amendment-debate-premature-october-2026
• Category: National News
• Focus keyphrase: 28th Amendment Pakistan
• SEO title: Khuhro Calls 28th Amendment Debate Premature
• Meta description: PPP’s Nisar Khuhro says debate on the proposed 28th Amendment is premature, arguing the PML-N lacks the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution.
• Tags: Nisar Khuhro, 28th Amendment, PPP, PML-N, Constitution, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, governor’s rule, Aiman Saleem, Saleem Yousuf
• Original element: local Pakistan angle — the two-thirds majority arithmetic in the current parliament, our prior coverage of the KP governor’s-rule debate, and the Aiman Saleem–PPP sidebar
• Sources: Dawn (https://www.dawn.com/news/2039387)
• Date: Saturday, 2026-10-24 (press conference held Friday, 2026-10-23)

Senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader Nisar Khuhro said on Friday that any debate over a proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution was premature, arguing that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz does not have the two-thirds majority required to amend the Constitution.

Speaking at a press conference at the Sindh Assembly’s committee room, Mr Khuhro said even if the federal government brought its other allies on board, it would still fall short of the numbers needed. “Therefore, a debate on the 28th Amendment would weaken the country’s future,” he said.

The numbers problem

Amending the Constitution needs a two-thirds majority in parliament — a bar that has kept many proposed amendments stillborn over the years. Mr Khuhro’s argument was blunt: the arithmetic simply does not add up for the ruling coalition, and talking about an amendment without the votes risks stirring political noise for no result.

The statement matters because the PPP is a key coalition partner in the federal government. When a senior PPP leader publicly rules out the numbers, it signals that the 28th Amendment — whatever its eventual shape — does not have coalition backing right now.

Governor’s rule in KP

Mr Khuhro also addressed the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where governor’s rule has become the focal point of a federal-provincial confrontation. He said the president had signed the summary for imposing governor’s rule on the approval of the federal cabinet and on the advice of the prime minister, but stressed it was not intended to continue for a long period.

Governor’s rule could be withdrawn, he said, if political parties agreed on a joint action plan against terrorism. The provincial government, he noted, had not closed the doors for negotiations — but the former chief minister of KP had not shown willingness to confront terrorists.

Under the Constitution, Mr Khuhro said, governor’s rule can be imposed in a province if the law and order situation deteriorates beyond acceptable limits — a condition he said KP had met. The issue was not new, he added; it had persisted for many years.

The remarks fit into a long-running argument over the province. Earlier this month, the centre was reported to be seriously considering emergency measures in KP, and the federal information minister has repeatedly clashed with the PTI over governance and the emergency row. The PTI, for its part, has warned it could quit the assemblies if governor’s rule is imposed, while federal minister Amir Muqam has accused the PTI of having abandoned the province.

Doors still open

Mr Khuhro said the government had not closed the doors for talks with political parties on the KP situation. The conditional offer — a joint anti-terrorism action plan in exchange for ending governor’s rule — suggests the federal government wants a political settlement rather than prolonged direct rule, even as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif consults allies amid the standoff with the PTI.

A new face for the PPP

The press conference also had a political sidebar: Aiman Saleem, daughter of former cricketer Saleem Yousuf, announced that she was joining the PPP. The induction, staged at the Sindh Assembly, gave the presser a moment of political theatre beyond the constitutional arguments — a reminder that the PPP continues to recruit public figures even as the coalition government faces its toughest stretch.