Two more petitions filed against 26th Amendment in SC

ISLAMABAD: Two separate petitions, filed by former parliamentarians and a former Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) president, have challenged the 26th Amendment, aiming to overturn recent judiciary-focused constitutional changes.

The coalition government passed these changes on the night of October 20-21, following extensive negotiations between treasury and opposition lawmakers.

The new petitions bring the total count of challenges to eight, targeting amendments affecting the judiciary, including setting a three-year term for the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and the formation of constitutional benches.

One of the petitions, submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday, includes petitioners Balochistan National Party—Mengal (BNP-M) President Akhtar Mengal, former National Assembly speaker Fahmida Mirza, National Democratic Movement (NDM) Chairman Mohsin Dawar, and former PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.

This petition lists the federation, Judicial Commission of Pakistan, a Special Parliamentary Committee, Senate chairman, and Election Commission of Pakistan as respondents, seeking to have the judicial package declared null and void.

The petitioners also questioned the legislative process, arguing that the 26th Amendment’s passage violated constitutional law and calling for an investigation into alleged “coercive” voting in parliament.

The former parliamentarians urged the Supreme Court to invalidate specific sections of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2024, claiming they undermine judicial independence, and to annul all actions based on those sections. They further sought the dissolution of the Judicial Commission and constitutional benches established under the amendment, along with their associated proceedings.

The second petition, submitted by former SHCBA president Salauddin Ahmed, also calls on the Supreme Court to nullify the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2024, and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

Speaking outside the Supreme Court, former senator Khokhar accused the government of harassing BNP-M members through legal cases, describing the constitutional package as a threat to state stability.

NDM leader Dawar criticized the government’s handling of the amendments, arguing they disregarded public opinion and ignored standard legislative procedures, including provincial representation from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Senate.

The coalition government achieved the two-thirds majority needed to pass the amendments, with 225 votes in the National Assembly and 65 in the Senate, amid the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s decision to abstain from the vote. Following parliamentary approval, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the 26th Amendment Bill into law on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.