ISLAMABAD: The PTI submitted a reference to the Senate chairperson on Thursday, seeking the disqualification of Senator Saifullah Abro for defecting from party line and voting in favour of the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar posted about the development on his X account, saying: “Saifullah Abro went against party line by voting in favour of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, for which a reference for his disqualification has been filed.”
The reference, moved by Zafar, invoked Article 63-A of the Constitution, which deals with disqualification on grounds of defection.
“The declaration is being submitted for onward reference to the chief election commissioner for laying the same before the election commission in accordance with the said Article 63-A,” the reference, dated January 1
It added that a meeting of the PTI was convened before voting on the 27th Amendment, in which it was “explicitly decided and communicated to all PTI senators in writing” that they were to oppose and not vote in favour of any legislative measure or bill relating to the said amendment.
The direction to oppose and not vote in favour of any legislative measure relating to the 27th Amendment was also issued by Zafar to all PTI senators, including Abro, the reference stated, adding: “The record confirms that this direction was properly conveyed to him and that he was fully aware of it.”
The direction was also widely published in the media, the reference said.
However, Senator Abro voted in favour of the legislation first on November 10, 2025 — when the Senate first voted on the amendment — and then on November 13,2025 when the house considered the legislation for the second time after some changes were made to it, the reference said..
At both instances, Abro voted in favour of the amendment, contrary to the “clear, unanimous and duly communicated direction” of the PTI and his parliamentary leader in the Senate, it said.
The reference further stated that a show-cause notice dated December 2, 2025 was issued to Abro, and it was subsequently “received at his residential/official mailing addresses of Larkana and Islamabad, affording him full and adequate opportunity to show cause as to why a declaration may not be made against him in terms of Article 63-A”.
The show-cause notice was issued in compliance with the requirements of Article 63-A, the reference said, further stating that no reply or explanation was received from Senator Abro.
By voting against the direction issued by the PTI, Abro “committed a deliberate and wilful breach of party discipline“, the reference said.
The reference stated that after due consideration of the facts, the PTI, as well as its parliamentary leaders in the Senate, had concluded that the conduct of Senator Abro was “contrary to the direction issued by the PTI parliamentary party, which constitutes defection from the PTI”.
“Senator Saifullah Abro is, therefore, declared to have defected from the PTI in terms of Article 63-A.”
The PTI requested the Senate chairman to refer this declaration to the chief election commissioner “for laying it before the election commission for [a] decision in terms of Article 63-A”.
Speaking to Dawn, PTI Senator Aon Abbas Buppi said, “We are sure that the [Senate] chairman is not going to forward this reference to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). So we are also filing a reference with the ECP.“
According to Article 63-A of the Constitution, after receiving a declaration of a member’s defection, the presiding officer of a House — the Senate chairperson in this case — shall refer it to the chief election commissioner within two days.
“In case he fails to do so, it shall be deemed that he has referred the declaration to the chief election commissioner who shall lay the declaration before the election commission for its decision thereon confirming the declaration or otherwise within 30 days of its receipt by the chief election commissioner,” the provision says.
If the ECP confirms the defection, the relevant member “shall cease to be a member of the house and his seat shall become vacant“, Article 63-A states, adding that any party aggrieved by the ECP’s decision may appeal it within 30 days in the Federal Constitutional Court.
The court shall then decide the matter within 90 days from the date of the filing of the appeal, it says.
Abro’s resignation
Apart from Abro, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Ahmed Khan had also voted in favour of the 27th Amendment against party line on November 10.
While the JUI-F had expelled Khan after the vote, Abro had announced his announced his resignation as a senator on the floor of the House.
Speaking on the floor of the upper house, he said he had “voted only for Syed Gen Asim Munir”, adding that the Pakistani armed forces had made the nation proud by winning against India in the May conflict.
“During the passage of the 26th Amendment, 10 family members of mine were abducted, but my party (PTI) did not come to the rescue,” he had further stated.
After he announced that he was stepping down, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani had commented, “We will make you a senator again”.
Separately, during the Senate session on November 13, 2025, Gilani had said a verbal announcement of a resignation meant nothing in legal terms. “I will call him (Abro) when he submits his resignation in writing. Maybe I will succeed in convincing him not to resign,“ he had remarked.
No further development has been reported with regards to Abro submitting his resignation in writing.
A day after Abro announced his resignation, PTI Senator Zafar, while speaking to Media, had said: “I have issued instructions under Article 63A. He [Senator Abro] violated them and is disqualified accordingly.”
Replying to a question, he said the party had distanced itself from Senator Abro, who had been removed from all communication channels, including the parliamentary party’s WhatsApp group.
