Letter to CJP says 27th Amendment poses ‘biggest threat’ to SC in ‘most radical restructuring of court’
Justice Yahya Afridi. PHOTO: FILE
PAKISTAN:
Senior lawyers and retired judges on Monday wrote to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, warning that the proposed 27th constitutional amendment poses the “biggest threat” to the Supreme Court since its inception.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has written to CJP Yahya Afridi, urging him to involve the executive to ensure that no constitutional amendment is made without consulting judges of all constitutional courts. He also called for a full Court meeting or a joint convention of Constitutional Court judges to discuss the proposed 27th Amendment.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, in his letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, warned that the proposed Federal Constitutional Court “does not arise from a genuine reform agenda but is a political device aimed at weakening and controlling the judiciary”.
He said the court’s judges would be appointed “without constitutional parameters”, giving the executive decisive power and inviting “manipulation of the judicial process”.
“A court born of executive will cannot be independent,” Justice Shah warned, adding that “a controlled constitutional court may serve ephemeral political interests but will permanently harm the Republic.”
He stressed that judicial independence “is not a privilege of judges – it is the protection of the people against arbitrary power,” urging the CJP to “sound the alarm before the independence of the judiciary is irretrievably lost.”
A copy of the letter was also sent to all Supreme Court judges.
The proposed 27th constitutional amendment brings sweeping changes to Pakistan’s judicial, administrative and federal structures. The main features include the creation of federal constitutional courts in the capital and the provinces, the modification of transfers of judges and the introduction of executive magistrates.
Another letter, written by lawyer Faisal Siddiqi and endorsed by several eminent retired judges and senior lawyers, describes the proposed amendment as “the most significant and radical restructuring of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since the Government of India Act, 1935”.
Read: Judiciary mulls response to 27th Amendment
The proposed draft also brings into article 243 of the Constitution, relating to the command of the armed forces. With the 27th Amendment, the government intends to abolish the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, create a new role of Chief of Defense Forces and grant life tenure and immunity to the Field Marshal as well as the Air Chief Marshal.
Critics within the legal community warn that the amendment would undermine judicial independence and weaken the authority of the Supreme Court.
Senior lawyers and retired judges have described the bill as a “radical restructuring” that risks subordinating the judiciary and centralizing power within the federal executive and military command.
“It should be obvious to Your Lordship as the chief guardian of the Supreme Court that the proposed amendment permanently deprives the Supreme Court of its constitutional jurisdiction,” the letter read.
The signatories refrained from discussing specific clauses of the proposed amendment and urged CJP Afridi to convene a full court “immediately and without delay” on the matter.
The senior lawyers noted that the proposed bill would likely pass “by November 11 or any day thereafter.”
In a sharply worded passage, the signatories warned that if the CJP refused to act “under the pretext of neutrality or non-interference”, it might as well “come to terms with being the last chief justice of Pakistan” and accept “the demise of the Supreme Court as the highest court of the land”.
Learn more: PM, senators feast on halwa after finalizing 27th amendment
Calling the matter “of the utmost public importance,” the lawyers said they were releasing the letter to the media “in the interest of transparency.” The communication was sent via WhatsApp to CJP Secretary Muhammad Yasin and is expected to be delivered by courier in due time.
Among the signatories of the letter are:
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Justice (retired) Mushir Alam, former Senior Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court
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Justice (retired) Nadeem Akhtar, former Senior Puisne Judge of the Sindh High Court
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Muneer A Malik, former Attorney General of Pakistan
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Muhammad Akram Sheikh, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association
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Anwar Mansoor Khan, former Attorney General of Pakistan
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Ali Ahmad Kurd, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association
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Abid S Zuberi, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association
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Kanrani B Amanullah, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association
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Khwaja Ahmad Hosain, Supreme Court lawyer
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Salahuddin Ahmed, lawyer at the Supreme Court
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Shabnam Nawaz Awan, Supreme Court lawyer
