- Former parliamentarians demand the repeal of Articles 7, 14, 17, and 21 of the law.
- The petition says the constitutional seats should be declared “invalid”.
- The Supreme Court requested the repeal of the Code of Practice and the Law on Increasing the Number of Judges.
ISLAMABAD: The 26th Amendment has been challenged by two former parliamentarians and a former Bar Association president in the Sindh High Court in two separate petitions, seeking to nullify the judiciary-centred constitutional amendments.
The coalition government approved the controversial constitutional package in both houses of Parliament on the night of October 20-21 after month-long political deliberations between Treasury and opposition lawmakers.
The latest petitions brought the total number of appeals to eight against the 26th Amendment, which includes a set of laws related to the country’s judiciary, including limiting the term of office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to three years as well as the formation of constitutional bodies.
In one of the petitions filed in the Supreme Court on Friday, the petitioners include Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) president Akhtar Mengal, former National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, and National Democratic Movement (NDM) chief and former legislator Mohsin Dawar. And former Senator from the Pakistan Peoples Party, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.
The petition – which named the Federation, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, the Special Parliamentary Committee, the Chairman of the Senate and the Election Commission of Pakistan as parties in the case – sought an order from the Supreme Court declaring the judicial package null and void.
Here is a copy of the petition submitted by former legislators:
It also questioned the manner in which the 26th Amendment was passed by Parliament, describing it as violating the Constitution and the law, and sought a comprehensive investigation into the “forced” voting of parliamentarians.
In their joint petition, the former parliamentarians asked the Supreme Court to annul Articles 7, 14, 17 and 21 of the Twenty-Sixth Constitutional Amendment Act of 2024, as they violate the independence of the judiciary, in addition to annulment of “all actions and decisions.” or notices, actions or superstructure by any person, authority or body in reliance thereon.”
They also sought to overthrow the “so-called” judiciary and the “constitutional seats” and invalidate all their procedures and actions.
In the second petition filed by former SHCBA President Salahuddin Ahmed today, the Supreme Court has also been prayed to repeal the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2024, and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
Below is a copy of the petition submitted by the former SHCBA President:
Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, former PPP Senator Khokhar alleged that BNP-M MPs were being “harassed” and booked in various cases. He said that the constitutional package was tantamount to weakening the state.
The National Democratic Movement leader also criticized the current government for “mocking public opinion in Parliament” by passing the constitutional amendments in a questionable manner.
Casting a shadow over the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Dawar said the government refrained from holding discussions and following parliamentary procedures on judiciary-focused legislation, while there was no representation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the Senate.
The ruling coalition succeeded in pushing the highly controversial judicial reforms through parliament via a two-thirds majority of 225 and 65 votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, last month.
During this process, the main opposition party – the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – abstained from voting on the constitutional package that was approved on the night of October 20-21.
After Parliament approved the said legislation, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the ’26th Amendment Bill’ into law on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz on the same day.