Hafiz Naeemur Rehman says changes shift power to executive, compromising independence of judiciary
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has launched a fierce attack on the government’s sweeping constitutional reforms, accusing ministers of “distorting” the nation’s founding document and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.
Party friend Hafiz Naeemur Rehman vowed to continue fighting to restore what he described as the original integrity of the constitution after the 27th constitutional amendment was passed by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. The measure now awaits a vote in the National Assembly.
This sprawling amendment contains 59 proposed articles, including provisions that have sparked controversy. Section 243 would restructure military command, while Section 248 seeks to grant the president lifelong legal immunity.
Under Article 200, the President would also have the power to transfer High Court judges between courts. Perhaps most controversial is that the amendment proposes the creation of a Constitutional Court, which critics say would fundamentally tip the balance of judicial power.
Learn more: The 27th Amendment was rushed through the Senate amid opposition walkout
Addressing members of the Lahore Bar Association at Aiwan-e-Adl, Rehman said his party had always defended the constitution throughout Pakistan’s history, but warned that these changes would give the executive decisive control over judicial appointments and distribution of power.
He took particular aim at proposals to replace the title of chief justice of Pakistan with that of chief justice of the Supreme Court – an adjustment he said would allow the prime minister to choose the country’s highest-ranking judge. “From now on, the president of the Constitutional Court will be the one chosen by the Prime Minister,” he said. “This is direct interference and an attempt to influence the justice system.”
According to him, the reforms violated the fundamental spirit of the constitution. “No individual, regardless of power, should enjoy immunity above the law,” he said.
Rehman also took issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s claims about economic progress, dismissing references to stock market performance as disconnected from the struggles of ordinary Pakistanis. “The prime minister keeps pointing fingers at the stock market to claim that the economy is moving in the right direction, but the real economy and the lives of ordinary Pakistanis tell a completely different story,” he said.
He accused the public of hypocrisy in its dealings with the establishment, suggesting that parties praised or condemned the establishment based on their own interests. “When the establishment supports us, we say ‘zindabad’ (long live), and when they support someone else, we say ‘murdabad’ (death to),” he said. “This hypocrisy must stop.”
The JI leader also criticized the Senate nomination process, alleging that financial influence determined who gets seats in the upper house, and condemned Punjab’s failure to hold local elections since 2015. He called the new Local Government Act’s promotion of non-party elections “unacceptable and undemocratic”, demanding a transparent, party-based electoral system for local bodies.
