What are Pakistan’s controversial constitutional amendments about?

The proposed amendments could weaken the independence of the judiciary, allege opposition parties and some experts.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Proposed constitutional amendments reportedly aimed at giving the political executive more power over the judiciary have emerged as the latest flashpoint between the government and the opposition in Pakistan.

After an intense weekend of political activity in the capital, Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government failed to convince the opposition to back its “Constitutional Package”, as the set of amendments is being called by the Pakistani leaders and media.

But the government insists that the proposals to alter the Constitution remain on the table.

The opposition, mainly led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has slammed the proposed reforms, calling them “unconstitutional” and saying that no draft of the proposed changes had been shared with them or the media.

Here’s a breakdown of the key proposals, the numbers required in parliament for their passage and why the opposition has refused to cooperate:

According to statements made by the opposition parties and local media reports, the government’s package includes more than 50 proposals, most of them concerning the judiciary.

One of the key suggestions is to create a new Federal Constitutional Court alongside the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court would handle petitions pertaining strictly to interpretations of constitutional clauses.

The proposed amendments also include raising the retirement age of judges in the proposed Constitutional Court to 68, as opposed to other judges who retire at 65. Additionally, the term of a judge serving in the Constitutional Court would