PTI steps up criticism of President, PM 27th Amendment bill

ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday declared that the 27th Amendment Bill, which is nearing approval, represents an overt attempt by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – both of whom are facing legal challenges – to “clear their names” and evade accountability.

Speaking at a press conference with Raja Nasir Abbas of Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja accused the government of using the proposed amendment to solidify its control over the judiciary, a move he described as an effort to further entrench its political influence.

He expressed concern that under the amendment, Prime Minister Sharif would recommend names for the chief justice of the proposed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), with final approval resting with President Zardari – a move he warned would lead to political control over the judiciary.

He further argued that the proposed changes would empower both Sharif and Zardari, who are mired in corruption scandals, to shape the judiciary’s future – a move he called “wholly unjustified.”

“Imagine a chief justice being chosen by a prime minister shadowed by multiple corruption cases, and a president whose corrupt practices are infamous worldwide,” he questioned.

He accused Sharif of solidifying his illegitimate grip on power with the steadfast backing of undemocratic forces.

He contended that Sharif was working to secure this hold by manipulating the judiciary, including through the creation of courts such as the FCC.

Central to these efforts, he argued, was one man – the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan – whose unyielding quest for justice would leave no one unscathed once he emerges from his current trials.

In the same breath, Raja condemned the provisions within the amendment that grant lifetime immunity to the heads of the country’s armed forces, particularly the field marshal, navy, and air force chiefs.

He described it as a hastily conceived maneuver aimed at shielding powerful military generals from accountability and scrutiny, insisting that such a move amounted to a grave disservice to the nation.

Raja maintained that the government, installed by the powers that be through the rigged 2024 elections, which secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly through the disqualification of PTI lawmakers and electoral manoeuvring, is completely “illegitimate.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025