Islamabad:
Thirty-eight human rights activists and civil society members from all of Pakistan have filed a request at the Supreme Court, contesting the validity and constitutionality of the 26th amendment which was bulldozer by the Parliament in October of the year.
As a group, these petitioners represent almost all religions, sects and ethnicities and come from all sexes, age groups, socioeconomic classes and provinces in Pakistan. They include trade unionists, labor representatives and linked peasants, student leaders, basic activists and defenders of civil and political freedoms, gender equality, equal citizenship and a free press.
While many petitions have been deposited against the 26th amendment, the objective of this petition led by civil society is to reflect the concerns of those who will be most affected by the amendment.
He is categorically not supporter and is fully concentrated on the premise that the 26th amendment is a targeted attack on the fundamental rights of people and on the democratic structure of the country.
The petition maintains that the 26th amendment was adopted by the abuse of power and the gross violation of the regular procedure; that it attacks the nature of the social contract between the people and the State by effectively canceling the third pillar of the State – a free and independent judicial system. The petition maintains that the 26th amendment destroys the independence of the judiciary.
Not only does he give the executive and the legislature an oversized role in the appointment of the chief judge of Pakistan and in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Court, but this also gives the executive and the legislature a role in the decision of the composition of the constitutional benches.
The petitioners argue that these poorly thought -out and dramatic changes will have a great significance for democracy, because these measures violate the principle of the separation of powers and abolish critical surveillance mechanisms which save against the abuse of power by a single branch of the State, of our Constitution.
