Pakistan has overhauled its judicial and military system by approving 27th Constitutional Amendment, which gives sweeping powers to Army Chief and Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Amid considerable outrage, two senior Pakistan Supreme Court judges tendered their resignations.
Judges Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah in separate letters urged Pakistan’s Chief Justice to summon a full court meeting and judicial conference to hold a debate over the amendment, which Judge Shah held responsible for “fracturing the unity of the nation’s apex court”.
“Staying on would not only amount to silent [conformity] in a constitutional wrong, but would also mean continuing to sit in a court whose constitutional voice has been muted,” Shah in his letter, which he shared on X.
What is 27th amendment, how will it impact Pakistan SC?
Simply put, the 27th constitutional amendment, which revises the Article 243 of the Pakistan Constitution, would lead to the creation of a new federal court and shift powers from the apex court.
The new federal court would have its own chief justice and staffed by an equal number of judges from each of Pakistan’s four provinces, as well as from capital Islamabad.
Currently, Article 248 stipulates that “no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court during his term of office”. However, they wouldn’t enjoy these privileges once out of office.
The Supreme Court will now be limited to hearing civil, criminal and statutory cases while top-most military officials will receive immunity from criminal prosecution.
“Serving in such a truncated and diminished court, I cannot protect the Constitution, nor can I even judicially examine the amendment that has disfigured it,” Shah further stated.
Munir gets lifelong immunity
Munir, who has also taken over as the Chief of Defense Forces, giving him command over all three arms of the Pakistani military – army, navy, and air force, was awarded lifelong legal immunity after law’s passage.
The second Pakistani military officer after Field Marshal Ayub Khan to have received a five-star designation, Munir will also be able to retain his rank, privileges and remain in uniform for life, Al Jazeera reported.