27th Amendment Triggers Major Judicial Rift in Pakistan

News Desk 

Islamabad: In a dramatic turn of events following the enactment of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday appointed Justice Aminuddin Khan as the first Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) — a newly established judicial body under the controversial amendment.

The announcement came just hours after Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah tendered their resignations in protest, calling the amendment a “grave assault” on Pakistan’s Constitution and judicial independence.

According to the Presidency, Justice Aminuddin Khan will take oath of office at Aiwan-e-Sadr tomorrow (Friday) at 10:00 a.m., in a ceremony expected to be attended by senior Supreme Court judges and other dignitaries. His appointment was made following consultations between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.

Under the new constitutional framework, the Federal Constitutional Court will hear constitutional matters, while other cases will continue to be heard by regular courts. The amendment also redefines the procedure for appointing the Chief Justice of Pakistan, allowing the position to be held by the most senior among the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court or the FCC.

Justice Aminuddin, who was earlier scheduled to retire on November 30, will now continue in service as head of the new court under the provisions of the 27th Amendment.

The amendment — which promises to “streamline governance” through the establishment of constitutional courts and revival of executive magistrates — has sparked widespread debate over its implications for judicial autonomy and separation of powers.

Earlier in the day, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, in a strongly worded resignation letter addressed to the President, described the amendment as one that “dismantles the Supreme Court of Pakistan, subjugates the judiciary to executive control, and strikes at the very heart of our constitutional democracy.”

He wrote, “By fracturing the unity of the nation’s apex court, it has crippled judicial independence and integrity, pushing the country back by decades.” Justice Shah added that remaining on the bench would amount to “silent acquiescence in a constitutional wrong,” asserting that the Supreme Court had been stripped of its fundamental authority to examine and interpret constitutional questions.

Justice Athar Minallah, in his resignation letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, echoed similar concerns, saying that the Constitution he swore to uphold was “no more.” He lamented that what remains of it is “a mere shadow; one that breathes neither its spirit, nor speaks the words of the people to whom it belongs.”

Justice Minallah, the son of late civil servant Nasrum Minallah and son-in-law of Justice Safdar Shah, who famously dissented in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case, said he could not continue “to pretend that, as new foundations are now laid, they rest upon anything other than [the Constitution’s] grave.”

Separately, former Attorney General of Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan also resigned from the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, citing the same constitutional concerns.

In his resignation letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, he wrote that the 27th Amendment had “sunk the ship” of judicial independence, adding, “No law reform is possible without an independent judiciary. To continue in these circumstances would be to perpetuate the worst fraud possible.”

The President’s assent to the 27th Constitutional Amendment came hours after the Senate approved the bill for a second time, with 64 votes in favour and four against, amid opposition protests. The National Assembly had earlier passed the bill with amendments.

While the government maintains that the new Federal Constitutional Court will strengthen constitutional interpretation and streamline governance, critics warn that the move effectively divides the superior judiciary and places it under greater executive influence — a shift many see as a serious blow to the principle of judicial independence in Pakistan.