ISLAMABAD: Khawaja Asif, Federal Minister for Defence, criticised the judges of the Supreme Court who resigned after the approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Defence Minister said their “consciences only awakened after their monopoly was curtailed.” He stated this while addressing the National Assembly session on Friday.
Supreme Court Judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, resigned a few hours after President Asif Zardari signed the amendment into law on Thursday.
Asif accused both judges of displaying “selective amnesia” and of ignoring their own past decisions. He said they now presented themselves as “guardians of democracy” despite their controversial judicial roles in earlier political cases. He added that they had forgotten their earlier judgments that reshaped Pakistan’s political landscape.
Minister Recalls Judicial Decisions Against Nawaz Sharif
The defence minister reviewed the events that led to Nawaz Sharif’s removal from office. He said the judiciary played a central part in turning a “conspiracy” into a legal outcome. He reminded the House that Chief Justice Saqib Nisar formed benches that declared Nawaz ineligible in the Panama case. He added that Justices Asif Saeed Khosa, Ejaz Afzal, Gulzar Ahmed, and Ijazul Ahsan were part of that decision.
Khawaja Asif said that a second bench later ruled that Nawaz’s ineligibility would last for life. He further stated that another bench, also formed under Justice Nisar’s supervision, decided that any ineligible person could not lead a political party. He argued that the same judges dominated political cases repeatedly.
He criticised the judiciary’s role during that period and said no judge felt shame when decisions were allegedly used to remove a political leader. He compared that silence to the judges’ current protests following the 27th Amendment. He said their recent resignations and public expressions, including the poetry added to Justice Shah’s letter, were political acts.
Amendment Aimed at Constitutional Supremacy, Says Asif
The defence minister said the 27th Amendment aimed to strengthen the Constitution, not undermine the judiciary. He also criticised the opposition for chanting slogans that suggested loyalty to a single political figure over the Constitution. He accused them of refusing to condemn recent attacks and said they had become “protectors of terrorists” entering Pakistan from across the border.
Defence Minister claimed that the resignations of judges stemmed from the loss of their influence in the Supreme Court, after the enforcement of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill.
