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SC’s senior most judge Mansoor Ali Shah raises concerns about the constitutional amendment

ISLAMABAD: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday raised concerns about the challenges the judiciary might face following the approval of the 26th Constitutional Amendment by Parliament.

Justice Mansoor’s remarks came just hours after the coalition government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, passed the controversial constitutional amendment package in the Senate and National Assembly. The legislative process began on Sunday evening and concluded in the early hours of Monday.

The judiciary-focused constitutional package introduced several key amendments, including a fixed three-year term for three Chief Justices of Pakistan (CJP).

The amendments also proposed the establishment of constitutional benches in both the Supreme Court (SC) and high courts, with a judicial commission responsible for determining the number of judges required for these benches.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar explained on Sunday that a constitutional bench would be created within the SC, with judges appointed by the judicial commission, which would also have the authority to evaluate judges’ performance. To strengthen the legislature’s role in the judicial appointments process, a 12-member parliamentary committee, by a two-thirds majority, would nominate the CJP. Additionally, the new amendments allow for the establishment of constitutional benches in the provinces.

During a Supreme Court hearing related to an appeal involving the Competition Commission of Pakistan, Justice Mansoor questioned whether the case would go to a constitutional bench or could be heard by a general bench. He noted, “It seems that this question will arise daily in the Supreme Court—whether a case will be heard by a general bench or a constitutional bench.”

In response, Barrister Farogh Naseem commented that political cases had now evolved into constitutional cases.

Justice Mansoor adjourned the hearing for three weeks, anticipating that the jurisdictional issues would become clearer by then. Meanwhile, Justice Ayesha Malik remarked, “Read the new amendment; an Article 199 case cannot be heard here.”

Justice Mansoor acknowledged that it would take some time for the judiciary to fully understand and adapt to these changes.

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I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.

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