Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday directed the immediate withdrawal of a proposed constitutional amendment seeking immunity for the prime minister, emphasizing that an elected leader must remain “fully accountable.”
In a post on X, Sharif said he had learned upon returning from Azerbaijan that a few PML-N senators had introduced the amendment as part of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. “While I acknowledge their intent in good faith, the proposal was not part of the Cabinet-approved draft. I have instructed that it be withdrawn immediately,” he wrote.
Sharif added, “As a matter of principle, an elected Prime Minister must remain fully accountable, both before the court of law and the people.”
The withdrawal comes as committees of the Senate and National Assembly continue deliberations on the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The bill seeks to reshape Pakistan’s power structure by creating a new position, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), to be held by the sitting Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. The CDF would become the constitutionally recognised head of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, further consolidating the military’s authority within the state apparatus.
Following the bill’s introduction, political tensions surged across Pakistan as opposition parties staged nationwide protests against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government. They denounced the proposed amendment as an attempt to grant sweeping powers to the military while weakening the country’s democratic and judicial institutions.
Opposition leaders have fiercely criticised the move, calling it a direct assault on democracy and judicial independence. “After the 27th Amendment, the Field Marshal will receive lifetime privileges, and no case can ever be filed against him for his entire life,” a senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader said. “Asim Munir is so terrified of his own misdeeds that he is erecting a protective wall around himself.”
How the amendment expands military powers
The proposed amendment also seeks to establish a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which would take over several of the Supreme Court’s key responsibilities, including constitutional interpretation and the resolution of federal-provincial disputes. The Supreme Court, under this structure, would be restricted to hearing appeals in civil, criminal, and statutory cases.
Additionally, the bill proposes granting lifetime immunity to the President from criminal prosecution and revising the process for appointing judges to the superior judiciary, changes critics say could further erode the separation of powers and strengthen executive and military control.
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