Two senior judges of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah, resigned on Thursday in protest against the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which they said undermines the Constitution and erodes judicial independence.
The resignations followed President Asif Ali Zardari’s approval of the amendment, the final step in making it law after it was passed by both houses of Parliament.
In his 13-page resignation letter, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah described the amendment as a “grave assault on the Constitution of Pakistan,” stating it “dismantles the Supreme Court of Pakistan, subjugates the judiciary to executive control, and strikes at the very heart of our constitutional democracy, making justice more distant, more fragile, and more vulnerable to power.”
He added, “Continuing in such a version of the Supreme Court of Pakistan would only suggest that I bartered my oath for titles, salaries, or privileges.” Shah resigned under Article 206(1) of the Constitution, effective immediately.
Justice Athar Minallah, in his resignation, wrote that it had been “my greatest honor and privilege to serve the people of Pakistan as part of its judiciary” and that his oath now compelled him to step down.
“The Constitution that I swore an oath to uphold and defend is no more,” he said, adding, “For, what is left of it is a mere shadow, one that breathes neither its spirit, nor speaks the words of the people to whom it belongs.”
The 27th Amendment creates a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) with jurisdiction over constitutional matters, placing it above the existing Supreme Court, which will now handle only civil and criminal cases.
The amendment abolishes the suo motu powers of the Supreme Court, transfers pending constitutional petitions to the FCC, and gives the executive greater control over appointments.
Justice Shah criticised this arrangement, calling it “an arrangement entirely alien to the common-law world” and said judges in the new FCC would serve in a court “created not by constitutional wisdom, but by political expediency.”
Justice Shah also criticised the Chief Justice of Pakistan for not opposing the amendment, saying, “Instead of defending the institution he was entrusted to lead, he assented to the amendment and negotiated only the preservation of his own position and title, even as the Court's constitutional stature was being dismantled.”
He reflected that the 26th Amendment of October 2024 had already begun to erode judicial independence, and the 27th Amendment now “extinguishes all remaining hope.”
Justice Minallah highlighted the symbolic value of the judicial office, stating, “These robes we wear are more than mere ornaments. They are to serve as a reminder of that most noble trust bestowed upon those fortunate enough to don them. Instead, throughout our history, they have too often stood as symbols of betrayal, through silence, and complicity alike.”
Both judges stepped down to preserve the integrity of their oaths, leaving the Supreme Court with a diminished role in constitutional adjudication. Justice Shah concluded, “I leave it with honour and integrity, and with peace in knowing that I leave it with a clear conscience and no regrets.”
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