Pakistan Passes Constitutional Amendments Aimed At Courts
Date
10/21/2024 4:00:16 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Islamabad: Pakistan's government narrowly passed constitutional amendments on Monday giving lawmakers more power to appoint top judges, who have issued a series of recent decisions favouring opposition chief Imran Khan.
Since February elections marred by rigging allegations, relations have soured between Islamabad and the top courts as rulings litigating results have backed the party of jailed ex-prime Minister Khan.
The 72-year-old former cricket star had been barred from running and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party previously claimed the courts were used to sideline their hugely popular campaign.
Under the judicial reforms passed during an early morning session of parliament, Pakistan's chief justice will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years.
The amendments come just days before Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa is due to retire.
Under the previous law he would have been automatically replaced by the next most senior judge -- currently Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently issued verdicts deemed favourable to Khan and his party.
New benches will also be formed of senior judges from across the country to weigh exclusively on constitutional issues, at the core of disputes between the government and PTI in the Supreme Court.
"This was a deliberate attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary," said Sardar Shahbaz Ali Khan Khosa, a senior member of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
"They attempted to strip away the core fundamental principles of Pakistan's constitution. We reject this and will fight it at every bar association," he told AFP.
But as the bill passed, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said it was "a historic day... affirming the supremacy of Parliament".
On Monday, the English-language newspaper Dawn predicted the law could heighten the confrontation between branches of state.
"Given the long-running feuds and divisions... the changes being made could trigger a new stand-off between the legal fraternity and the government," read an editorial.
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