President Zardari accepts resignations of SC judges Mansoor Ali Shah, Athar Minallah

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday accepted the resignations of Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, according to a post on the President’s official X account.

The two judges stepped down a day after the president signed the 27th Constitutional Amendment into law, legislation they described as contrary to the Constitution and damaging to judicial independence.

In his 13-page resignation letter, issued in English and Urdu, Justice Shah said he was resigning “in loyalty to the Constitution”, calling the amendment a “grave assault” that, in his view, dismantled the Supreme Court, placed the judiciary under executive control and weakened constitutional democracy.

He said the changes made access to justice “more distant, more fragile and more vulnerable to power.”

Justice Minallah, in his letter, wrote that the Constitution he had sworn to uphold was “no more”, adding that he could not “pretend” the new legal framework rested on anything other than its “grave.”

Both judges had recently written to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, requesting a full court meeting to discuss the amendment. A Supreme Court press release said the amendment was not taken up during Friday’s full court meeting, which instead approved the SC Rules, 2025.

On Thursday, the president’s approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment came shortly after the Senate passed the bill for a second time, with Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani announcing that 64 members voted in favour and four against.

Lower house, too, passes 27th Amendment Bill

The session saw strong opposition protests, as PTI senators staged a sit-in in front of the chairman’s dais, chanted slogans against the legislation and tore up copies of the bill before walking out.

The amendment was approved by the National Assembly a day earlier with a two-thirds majority. The House added eight new clauses, including a major change to Article 6(2), which now bars any court, including a newly created Federal Constitutional Court, from validating acts of “high treason”.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told lawmakers that perceptions about the abolition of the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s office were “entirely false”, saying current Chief Justice Yahya Afridi would serve out his term as head of both the Supreme Judicial Council and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

Opposition parties have condemned the amendment, accusing the government of consolidating power and weakening constitutional safeguards.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan termed the legislation undemocratic and warned it would render the Constitution “meaningless”, vowing to challenge the changes through all available forums.