ISLAMABAD: Former judges and senior lawyers have urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, to call a Full Court meeting to deliberate on the implications of the proposed 27th Amendment and to articulate the judiciary’s collective stance.
Senior advocate Faisal Siddiqui wrote a two-page letter to CJP Yahya Afridi, signed and endorsed by Justice Mushir Alam, ex-senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, retired Justice Nadeem Akhtar, ex-senior puisne judge of the Sindh High Court, and Munir A Malik and Anwar Mansoor Khan former Attorneys General of Pakistan, Akram Sheikh, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Amanullah Kanrani and Abid Zuberi, former presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and senior lawyers Khawaja Ahmed Hosain, Salahuddin Ahmed and Shabnam Nawaz Awan.
They have expressed grave concern over the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment.
CJP says SC fully respects independence of high courts
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah also wrote a six-page letter, the copies of which were also sent to all the judges of the Supreme Court, to the Chief Justice on November 8, but was available to media on Monday (November 10), asked the incumbent Chief Justice that “You, as the Head of the Judiciary, are the trustee of this institution. It is therefore your constitutional and moral duty to ensure that no amendment affecting the judiciary proceeds without judiciary’s considered, collegial, and recorded response.”
“To permit otherwise would be to allow the judiciary to be restructured without its own participation, violating both constitutional propriety and the principle of separation of powers,” he added.
The senior judge of the Supreme Court questioned, “Have the judges of the constitutional courts -the Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat Court, and the High Courts been invited to deliberate on the proposed amendment and record their institutional response? If not, the process stands stripped of constitutional propriety and democratic legitimacy.”
Justice Mansoor wrote until the questions (surrounding the 26th Amendment) are conclusively settled, any further attempt to alter the judicial architecture risks camouflaging unresolved constitutional infirmities and casting further doubt on the credibility of both the amendment process and the constitutional order.
He maintained that the proposed Federal Constitutional Court does not arise from any genuine reform agenda; it is, rather, a political device to weaken and control the judiciary. A court born of executive will cannot be independent. A controlled constitutional court may serve transient political interests, but it will permanently damage the Republic. The independence of the judiciary is not a privilege of judges–it is the people’s protection against arbitrary power.”
Justice Mansoor urged the Chief Justice to formally engage with the executive and make it unequivocally clear that no amendment affecting the judiciary should proceed without prior consultation with the judges of the constitutional courts.
Former judges and senior lawyers warned that the amendment poses the “biggest threat” to the independence of the Supreme Court since its inception and demanded a full court session to formulate an institutional response. According to the letter, the judiciary has never faced such an attempt by any civil or military government to make the Supreme Court subordinate to the executive. The writers stressed that the situation is “extraordinary” and requires a unified institutional response.
The retired judges and lawyers have demanded that Chief Justice Yahya Afridi immediately convene a full court meeting to deliberate on the constitutional amendment. They stated that the Supreme Court holds the constitutional authority to give its opinion on such a matter and must act collectively to safeguard judicial independence.
“If you do not call a full court meeting,” the letter says, “we expect you to acknowledge in writing that you have reconciled with being the last Chief Justice of Pakistan.”
The legal fraternity described the proposed 27th Amendment as an unprecedented challenge to judicial autonomy. They warned that failure to act could erode the credibility and authority of the Supreme Court. “No previous civilian or military regime has managed to make the Court a subordinate institution,” the letter noted, emphasising the need for a strong and timely response.
They wrote that the Supreme Court has every right and power to give its input to the federal government on any proposed Amendment Act, which proposes radical restructuring of the basic essence and structure of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and its constitutional obligation to administer justice for all.
In the letter, the former judges and senior lawyers maintained that the proposed amendment is expected to be passed by November 11, 2025, urging the apex court to call a full court meeting immediately.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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