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The National Assembly Tuesday approved a bill proposing amendments to the Elections Act 2017 to bar lawmakers from changing their party affiliation amid strong resistance from the opposition benches who termed the legislation "unconstitutional".

The development comes after the legislation, tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani last month, secured subsequent approval by the NA Parliamentary Affairs Committee.

The NA panel had passed the bill with the support of eight members, four members opposed it, and Shahid Akhtar, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) MNA, abstained from voting.

The legislation, once it comes into effect following the approval from the Senate and the president's assent, will prevent the individuals who contested the general election as independent candidates from changing their affidavit at a later stage to declare affiliation with any political party.

The bill, when it becomes a law, might reverse the PTI's return to the parliament after its "resurrection" in the assemblies following the Supreme Court's July 12 ruling which had declared the Imran Khan-founded party eligible for reserved seats.

Since then, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has notified as many as 93 lawmakers from three provincial legislatures as PTI members.

The electoral body issued a notification of 29 members of the PTI from Punjab, 58 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and six from Sindh.

Meanwhile, 39 lawmakers in the NA, who had shown their affiliation with the PTI in their nomination papers, have also been declared by the ECP as PTI members.

What does the legislation say?

The legislation provisions retrospective effect and will apply from the commencement of the Elections Act 2017.

In its amendment to Section 66 of the Elections Act, the bill says that if a candidate does not submit a declaration of his affiliation with a political party to the returning officer (RO) before seeking allotment of the election symbol, they shall be "deemed to be considered as an independent candidate and not a candidate of any political party".

Meanwhile, the amendment to Section 104 reads that if a political party fails to submit its list for reserved seats within the prescribed time period, it will not be eligible for reserved seats at any later stage.

Furthermore, it adds a new provision to the original legislation titled Section 104A which declares the consent or affidavit of an independent candidate regarding joining a political party "irrevocable" and prohibits its withdrawal and substitution.