Guns & Gavels: How Pakistan’s judiciary is being undermined and why it benefits Asim Munir

Asim Munir

Pakistan’s parliament passed a sweeping constitutional amendment expanding the authority of the army chief and curbing the powers of the Supreme Court, a move critics warned would inflict lasting damage on the country’s judicial system. Under the new law, Army Chief Asim Munir will be elevated to the newly created post of Chief of Defence Forces, placing the army, navy and air force under his unified command. He will retain his rank after completing his term and enjoy lifetime legal immunity.

According to Reuters, the legislation was approved in the lower house with more than a two-thirds majority, with only four lawmakers voting against it.

The amendment transfers constitutional matters from the Supreme Court to a new Federal Constitutional Court, whose judges will be appointed by the government,  a shift legal experts say risks severely eroding judicial independence. In recent years, the Supreme Court has blocked major government decisions and even removed prime ministers from office.

What did the amendment do?

Pakistan’s 27th constitutional amendment, passed by parliament and signed into law hours later by President Asif Ali Zardari, grants him lifetime immunity. While Zardari already enjoyed protection during his presidency, the new provisions ensure he retains immunity after leaving office, provided he does not assume any other public position.

Lawyer Osama Malik criticised the move, saying, "Such immunities are usually granted in absolute monarchies to sovereigns and not to elected leaders who should be accountable," as quoted by news agency AFP.

Malik warned that "The entire hierarchy of the armed forces has been changed, which is going to cause serious internal rifts."

How does it change the judicial system?

The amendment establishes a new Federal Constitutional Court with exclusive authority over constitutional matters, effectively stripping the Supreme Court of its original constitutional jurisdiction. All pending petitions will now be shifted to the new court, whose judges were sworn in on Friday.

It also empowers the president to transfer Supreme Court judges, a provision that legal experts say could undermine judicial independence and potentially be used to pressure or penalise non-compliant judges.

How did officials and politicians react? 

Two Supreme Court judges resigned in protest. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote in his resignation letter: "The 27th Constitutional Amendment stands as a grave assault on the Constitution of Pakistan." He added: "By fracturing the unity of the nation's apex court, it has crippled judicial independence and integrity, pushing the country back by decades."

Government ministers praised the amendment as “historic,” while opposition benches erupted in protest during the vote. Lawmakers from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) condemned it as "deeply undemocratic" and "the final nail in the coffin of an independent judiciary and a functioning democracy".

What could happen next?

Asim Munir, originally scheduled to retire in 2027, will now remain in office until 2030 as chief of defence forces, an extension defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa told AFP "gives him an opportunity to oversee the next elections".

Shuja Nawaz, a South Asia expert, added that members of the ruling coalition "expect his support when elections come".

“We are facing completely uncharted territory: a breach in our judicial system the likes of which we haven’t seen in almost a century,” constitutional lawyer Asad Rahim Khan told Reuters. “The members slapping each other on the back should prepare themselves for when they’ll be seeking relief from the same courts they have destroyed and subordinated to the state.”

Constitutional lawyer Mirza Moiz Baig also warned, per Reuters, that the amendment marked “the death knell of an independent judiciary,” handing the prime minister and president the authority to hand-pick the chief justice and other judges of the new court, weakening any meaningful check on executive overreach.

Pakistan’s military has long exerted significant influence over national politics, but analysts say the latest changes grant it unprecedented constitutional backing. “With the amendment’s passage, parliament has done what previous dictators could only dream of,” Baig said.

*With Agency Inputs