Constitutional Amendment | Pakistan

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has set up a full bench to review several petitions contesting the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

As the dust settles after the passage of the 27th Amendment Constitutional Amendment, changes have been made to key constitutional and statutory judicial bodies. Following these changes, Supreme Court’s Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail has been included in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Practice and Procedure Committee while Federal Constitutional Court’s (FCC) Justice Aamer Farooq has been made a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). Among the three statutory bodies, the SJC is the the top forum for judicial accountability that probes allegations of misconduct against judges, the Practice and Procedure Committee forms benches and fixes cases, and the JCP is responsible for appointing judges to the superior judiciary. Changes in their composition were required to synchronise them with the latest constitutional amendment. A Supreme Court (SC) press release issued on Tuesday said: “Pursuant to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, [these] key constitutional and statutory judicial bodies […]...

Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza of the Lahore High Court has resigned in the wake of the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, becoming the latest senior member of the judiciary to protest the changes.

A petition has been submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging the recently approved 27th Constitutional Amendment, with petitioners arguing that it clashes with the foundational principles of the 1973 Constitution.

Lawyer Asad Rahim Khan filed a petition with the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to challenge the recently enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment, moving the court to declare the amendments unconstitutional and to “take measures” to ensure judicial independence. The 27th Amendment, signed into law earlier today by President Asif Ali Zardari, was widely criticised by the legal fraternity for abolishing judicial independence through the formation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). SC Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah resigned earlier this evening, in response to the 27th Amendment, which “diminished” the apex court. Khan’s petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn, requested that the Supreme Court declare Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 to 43, 45A and B, 46 and 48 of the Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025 illegal and unlawful, as it violated Entry 55 of the Federal Legislative List, read with other provisions of the Constitution. According to the petition, Entry 55 “ensure...

Yielding to several letters from Supreme Court judges, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi called a full court meeting on Friday, after Justice Salahuddin Panhwar became the third judge to request that he convene the judges to deliberate on the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Earlier, senior puisne Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah had written separate letters to the CJP asking for a full court meeting or the convening of the judicial conference. However, the two justices resigned on Thursday evening in protest against the 27th Constitutional Amendment Justice Panwhar, in a two-page letter, requested the CJP to call the full court to examine the amendment clause by clause and study its implications against Articles 175, 175A, 189, 190, 191 and 209 of the Constitution — provisions which deal with the judiciary. Headed by the CJP, the full court meeting will be held at the Supreme Court building before the Friday prayers. Justice Panwhar stated he was writing the letter “not in pr...

President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment on Thursday, enacting it into law. The summary signed by the president, a copy of which is available with Dawn, states: “The Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2025, is assented to, as advised by the prime minister, at para 5 of the summary.” Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that the president was expected to administer the oath to the chief justice of the Federal Constitutional Court — the establishment of which would now be realised after the enactment of the 27th Amendment bill — tomorrow at the Presidency. Senate’s approval The president’s assent to the legislation came hours after the Senate approved the bill for the amendment after voting on it for a second time amid the opposition’s protest. Announcing the result, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani said 64 votes had been cast in favour of the bill and four against it. “So the motion is carried by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membersh...

The new text of the 27th Constitutional Amendment will be presented in the Senate today for approval, with the session scheduled to begin at 11 a.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday described the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment as a historic achievement for national unity and democratic progress.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has said the 27th Constitutional Amendment is aimed at further strengthening governance and defence as well as ensuring the effective delivery of justice.

The National Assembly on Tuesday approved all 59 clauses of the 27th Constitutional Amendment during a session chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced that it will not participate in the National Assembly proceedings on the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The 27th Constitutional Amendment has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC), with the petitioner urging the court to declare it unconstitutional and void.

The joint standing committees on law and justice of the Senate and National Assembly presented their report on the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment in the Senate on Monday.

The standing committees on law and justice of both houses of Parliament approved on Sunday the draft of a bill for a 27th Constitutional Amendment after some changes, Senator Farooq H. Naek told reporters after a meeting that was convened to deliberate on the proposed changes. He said that he and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had been authorised to make changes to some clauses of the bill, without sharing anymore details about the said clauses. Alongside him, Tarar said they would submit a report on the proposals finalised by the committees to the Senate tomorrow (Monday). The bill for Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025 was tabled before the Senate yesterday, hours after it was approved by the federal cabinet, triggering noisy protests from the opposition over the pace and scope of the proposed changes. That initial draft of the bill proposed the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), changes to the appointment process for high court judges, a higher cap on provincial cabinets, and ...

The PML-N and the PPP on Saturday rejected the impression that the 27th Constitutional Amendment was rushed through without proper debate, saying the draft has undergone “extensive scrutiny”. Earlier today, after getting approval from the federal cabinet, the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate and subsequently referred to the standing committees on law and justice. Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said there was “no urgency” in convening the cabinet meeting even though Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the session virtually from Baku, Azerbaijan. Malik said there was “a lot of discussion” about the proposed constitutional amendment, adding that deliberations were continuing within party committees and that it was the parliamentarians’ right to propose amendments. He maintained that a “wrong impression” had been created that the process was being hurried. The state minister also said that some cha...

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is expected to meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to discuss the country’s political situation and the 27th Constitutional Amendment, a statement by JUI-F said. Maulana Fazlur Rehman will be accompanied by Maulana Rashid Soomro, Mufti Abrar Ahmed and others. Earlier today, after getting approval from the federal cabinet, the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate and subsequently referred to the standing committees on law and justice. However, during the session of the standing committees, two JUI-F members, Aliya Kamran and Senator Kamran Murtaza, boycotted the meeting and said the proposed draft included amendments that were discarded in the 26th Amendment bill. Yesterday, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that his party would oppose any proposed amendment that seeks to reduce the powers granted to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. “The provinces have a ...

The PML-N and the PPP on Saturday rejected the impression that the 27th Constitutional Amendment was rushed through without proper debate, saying the draft has undergone “extensive scrutiny”. Earlier today, after getting approval from the federal cabinet, the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate and subsequently referred to the standing committees on law and justice. Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said there was “no urgency” in convening the cabinet meeting even though Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the session virtually from Baku, Azerbaijan. Malik said there was “a lot of discussion” about the proposed constitutional amendment, adding that deliberations were continuing within party committees and that it was the parliamentarians’ right to propose amendments. He maintained that a “wrong impression” had been created that the process was being hurried. The state minister also said that some cha...

Shortly after getting approval from the federal cabinet, the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate on Saturday and subsequently referred to the standing committees on law and justice. A joint session of both the NA and Senate standing committees on law and justice was then summoned to discuss the amendment. However, during the session of the standing committees, two Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) members, Aliya Kamran and Senator Kamran Murtaza, boycotted the meeting and said the proposed draft included amendments that were discarded in the 26th Amendment bill. Following deliberations on the proposed amendment, the law committees of both Houses adjourned the moot till Sunday. ‘Discussions will continue till consensus is reached’ Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, speaking to the media after the adjournment of the committees, said all parties were participating in the session and they had also “requested the opposition to participate”. “Aliya Kamran had informed us that they h...

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the party would support amendments to Article 243, which defines the powers of the armed forces, in the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment. Addressing the media following the conclusion of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, Bilawal said the moot debated the matter of constitutional courts for two days and the party “agrees in principle with the idea that constitutional courts should be formed”. “In the 27th Amendment, the amendment to (article) 243 must be accepted.” The party chairperson added that “unfinished agenda items” from the Charter of Democracy were also discussed. View this post on Instagram “We will engage with the government and see which other points we can reach a consensus on,” said Bilawal. He added that if a consensus can be reached with the incumbent government on agenda items not fulfilled under the Charter of Democracy, “it would be a welcome step”. Bilawal further said that they are giving their suggestions...