In a significant development for Pakistani politics, the 26th Constitutional Amendment was officially enacted today following its passage through both houses of Parliament. President Asif Ali Zardari granted his assent to the amendment on Monday.
This marks the second consecutive “working weekend” for the ruling coalition, which successfully advanced the long-awaited ‘Constitutional Package’ with a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the National Assembly.
The 26th Amendment introduces several reforms focused primarily on the judiciary. Key changes include the removal of the Supreme Court’s suo motu powers, the establishment of a three-year term for the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), and the authority granted to the prime minister to appoint the next CJP from the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.
The Senate approved the bill, which contained 22 clauses, with a two-thirds majority on Sunday. Subsequently, the National Assembly, in a session that extended past 5am on Monday, passed an amended version of the bill with 27 clauses, reflecting suggestions made by the Senate.
The ceremony initially scheduled for 6:00am at the President’s House was postponed to around noon on Monday.
The 26th Amendment is now officially part of the Constitution.
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”.
Furthermore, the federal government has decided to immediately form this parliamentary committee to handle the Chief Justice’s appointment.
The bill has also made the right to clean environment a fundamental part of the constitution and pledged to take steps to eliminate Riba by 2028.
PTI’s Omar Ayub Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, told the session that “these amendments are akin to suffocating a free judiciary”.
“A government formed through rigging cannot amend the Constitution,” he said.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party scraped together a two-thirds majority with the backing of its long-time rival turned supply and demand partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party.
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The government clinched 225 votes of the required 224 with the crucial support of a handful of rebel MPs from PTI, state media broadcasting the session showed.
PTI, the largest bloc in parliament, had refused to back the package despite offers to water down the amendments and settle a consensus deal, analysts said.
Analyst Bilal Gilani, who heads Pakistan’s leading polling agency, said the amendments have some wins – including bringing balance to activism by the judiciary.
“A more sinister side of this amendment creates a judiciary that is more pliant with the concerns of the government,” he added.
(With input from AFP)
