The federal government of Pakistan has postponed the scheduled cabinet meeting today (Friday), which was expected to approve the initial draft of the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, as the Pakistan Peoples Party’s leadership is set to continue deliberation on the proposal.

The PPP’s Central Executive Committee, under the chairmanship of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, had met yesterday, discussing the key features of the amendment. It decided not to compromise on the 18th Amendment or the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

Members agreed that under no circumstances should the 18th Amendment be rolled back, emphasising that provincial autonomy was a core achievement of the democratic process.

Party members maintained that returning key subjects like health and education to the federal domain was impractical and that the NFC Award’s existing resource-sharing formula must remain intact.

According to party sources, the PPP leadership appeared largely aligned on Article 243 and reached around 70 per cent consensus on issues related to the formation of a constitutional court and the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.

In the Senate, the introduction of the amendment has also been postponed due to the PPP’s CEC meeting today.