Roving Periscope: Two Pak SC judges resign against Mullah Munir turning Sultan
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Two judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan resigned on Friday after “Field Marshal” Syed Asim Munir’s constitutional coup via Parliament that not only elevated him further on the echelons of power but also granted him immunity from prosecution for life.
After President Asif Ali Zardari’s only too expected ‘approval’ of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, passed on Thursday by Parliament, the Supreme Court called a meeting of all judges on Friday where many felt the new legislation curbed the top court’s remit.
The meeting prompted two judges—Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and Athar Minallah—to quit. They regretted that the so-called judicial and constitutional reforms came “as a grave assault on the constitution.”
The amendment, which the political opposition, led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi’s political outfit Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said undermined democracy. The Supreme Court will no longer hear constitutional cases. The changes also expanded the powers of the country’s army chief and extended his term, the media reported.
In theory, the remaining Supreme Court judges can suspend the new law, but lawyers said that was unlikely. Before this week, the top court had 24 judges. Pakistan’s government has waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent and its main opposition, including Imran Khan, who is in jail for over two years.
Rights groups say the crackdown has been led by the powerful military and they have routinely looked to the courts to safeguard democracy.
The Pakistan military has repeatedly denied interfering in politics. The administration of the puppet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the changes would improve governance and reward the army chief for the military’s performance in the conflict with India in May 2025.
“Pakistan has today taken a Constitutional path,” Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament on Friday. “The judges used to do politics. They used to undermine parliament.”
In his resignation letter on Thursday, the Supreme Court’s second-most senior judge, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, said of the amendment: “By fracturing the unity of the nation’s apex court, it has crippled judicial independence and integrity, pushing the country back by decades.”
“The Constitution that I swore an oath to uphold and defend is no more,” wrote Athar Minallah, the other judge to resign. “What is left is a mere shadow, one that breathes neither its spirit, nor speaks the words of the people to whom it belongs.”
Justice Aminuddin Khan was sworn in on Friday as the first Chief Justice of Pakistan’s newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), the President House said.
Earlier on Thursday, President Zardari gave his assent to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, formally enacting the bill into law, which made sweeping changes to key articles of the Constitution and also established the Federal Constitutional Court.
The Senate and the National Assembly, the upper and the lower houses of the country’s parliament, respectively, passed the amendment bill earlier this week.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told parliament that the establishment of the FCC will provide a dedicated court to adjudicate constitutional matters, aims to ease the caseload of the Supreme Court, and seeks to promote timely and uniform interpretation of the Constitution.
Aminuddin’s appointment was made by the President under Article 175A (3), read with Article 175C of the Constitution, and took effect immediately upon the oath-taking ceremony. The oath-taking of other FCC judges will follow at the Islamabad High Court later on Friday.
The amendment also elevated army chief Asim Munir to a new title, Chief of Defence Forcesm (CDF), formally putting him in charge of the navy and air force as well. He will also hold his rank of “Field Marshal” and have immunity from prosecution for life.
The government said that, as Munir was appointed to a new job, his five-year term starts again, meaning he will serve until 2030. His tenure can be extended for another five years after that. Munir was appointed as army chief in 2022.
