The 26th Constitutional Amendment has been challenged in Pakistan’s Supreme Court. Afrasiab Khattak, the former chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and ex-senator, filed a petition urging the court to form a full bench to hear the case regarding the amendment.
Khattak’s petition requests an inquiry to determine whether legislators voted under pressure or willingly passed the amendment. He stated that the court should investigate this matter either independently or through a judicial commission. The petition asserts that there is a perception that the amendment was not passed with proper diligence.
Read more: What is the 26th Constitutional Amendment?
The petition claims that the amendment should be declared invalid as it undermines the independence of the judiciary, which is considered a fundamental aspect of the Constitution. Khattak argues that the revised mechanism for the annual performance review of judges infringes on judicial freedom, as does the change in the appointment process for the chief justice and the formation of constitutional benches.
In his petition, Khattak has named the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and other political parties as respondents. It is worth noting that a separate petition was previously submitted to the Supreme Court, requesting that the amendment be declared void.
