26th amendment case: Salman Raja urges CJP to constitute a full bench

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Tuesday urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi to reconstitute the Supreme Court bench hearing petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment, urging that judges appointed under the controversial law be excluded from the bench.

Speaking at a press conference alongside senior PTI leaders Babar Awan and Shaukat Basra, Raja described the amendment as a “conspiracy against judicial independence”.

“From day one, this amendment aimed to dismantle the judiciary’s structure and undermine the Constitution,” he said. “We have formally requested that judges appointed after the 26th Amendment not be part of the bench hearing this case.”

The PTI leader also demanded that proceedings concerning the amendment be live-streamed to ensure transparency, highlighting the constitutional significance of the matter.

He said a formal application had been submitted to the Supreme Court, challenging the inclusion of judges appointed after the 26th Amendment on the bench. The application said that these appointments were made through a compromised Judicial Commission process.

Raja further criticised the top court for reversing an earlier verdict that the civilians could not be tried in military courts, asserting that the 26th Amendment facilitated this change. “This is unprecedented as no democracy allows such trials,” he said, citing India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Uganda as examples.

Babar Awan addressed reports suggesting that Imran Khan may be transferred from jail to a so-called “sub-jail” inside a military garrison.

“A private space inside a cantonment cannot be declared a sub-jail,” he said, adding that PTI would only accept a legally designated prison.

Raja reiterated PTI’s stance that Khan was allegedly abducted from the Islamabad High Court premises and falsely implicated in the May 9 violence. He criticised the use of video-link trials and insisted on in-person hearings.

Citing recent survey data, Raja claimed that Khan remains the most popular political figure in the country despite ongoing political victimisation, although he did not specify the source of the data.

He ruled out any coalition with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), describing the rivalry between PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as “a staged performance.”

On internal party matters, Raja said disagreements over the appointment of opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate had been resolved, with the party now focusing on launching a countrywide movement.

He also criticised restrictions on Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, saying she had been barred from conveying messages from the detained former prime minister. “She faces multiple cases and could be arrested at any time. But if one sister cannot deliver the message, another will,” he said.

Regarding Khan’s jail trial, Raja welcomed the Punjab government’s decision to reverse the “WhatsApp trial,” calling it a positive development. “The purpose of moving the trial to jail was to isolate Imran Khan. We opposed that and will continue to resist such tactics,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025