Shoaib Shaheen, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, declared that the party would challenge the recently passed 26th Constitutional Amendment.
After extensive political manoeuvring, the ruling coalition passed this contentious bill, enabling the parliament to select the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) from among the three most senior Supreme Court judges.
The amendments have significantly altered the judicial system, affecting the suo motu powers, the formation of constitutional benches, and the evaluation process for high court judges. After the changes, a Special Parliamentary Committee nominated Justice Yahya Afridi, third in seniority (excluding the incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa), as the next chief justice, and President Asif Ali Zardari approved Justice Afridi’s appointment.
Read: Justice Yahya Afridi Picked as Pakistan’s Next Chief Justice by Parliamentary Committee
Shaheen, on the Geo News program ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ stated “, We and the lawyers’ community will challenge the 26th Constitutional Amendment in its entirety,” He clarified that the challenge is not against Justice Afridi’s appointment as CJP. He remarked that the principle of seniority had been established after Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was fourth in seniority, was appointed chief justice. In 1998, all Supreme Court and high court judges devised a seniority formula, deciding that the most senior judge should become the next chief justice.
Shaheen criticized how the government enacted the 26th Amendment, suggesting misconduct in the selection process. He claimed that the amendment had caused division among the top court judges, insinuating that favourable judgments towards the government might influence future chief justice appointments.
Read: Justice Yahya Afridi to be Sworn In as New CJP on Oct 26
Regarding Justice Afridi, Shaheen stated, “He is a very defined and independent judge, but the issue is that he is third on the seniority list.” He stressed that the right to hold the position of chief justice belongs to the most senior judge, and appointing Justice Afridi out of turn was incorrect.
Shaheen also condemned changes to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), asserting that the government now plays a dominant role in forming benches that hear cases against it. He announced that PTI would vigorously challenge the amendment, asserting that it stripped the most senior judge of his rightful position and attacked judicial independence.
Furthermore, he mentioned that PTI plans to decide whether to join the judicial commission within a few days.
