Party Decides to Cancel Membership of Those Who Voted for 26th Constitutional Amendment. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced it will boycott today’s meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee tasked with appointing the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). This decision was made during a key meeting of the party’s political committee, shortly after the National Assembly Secretariat confirmed the formation of a 12-member committee to oversee the appointment in accordance with the newly enacted 26th Constitutional Amendment.
In a statement, PTI declared that members who supported the amendment would face disciplinary actions, including the cancellation of their basic party membership. The political committee also decided to issue show-cause notices to parliamentarians who have distanced themselves from the party, seeking explanations from those who maintain contacts with government officials.
The PTI’s decision to distance itself from the special committee coincides with the coalition government’s efforts to select a new CJP ahead of the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, on October 25.
Special Committee Overview
The 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee includes representatives from both government and opposition benches:
- MNA Khawaja Asif (PML-N)
- MNA Ahsan Iqbal (PML-N)
- MNA Shaista Pervaiz (PML-N)
- MNA Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (PPP)
- MNA Syed Naveed Qamar (PPP)
- MNA Rana Ansar (MQM-P)
- MNA Barrister Gohar Ali Khan (PTI)
- MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza (SIC)
- Senator Ali Zafar (PTI)
- Senator Farooq H Naek (PPP)
- Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (PML-N)
- Senator Kamran Murtaza (JUI-F)
The committee is scheduled to hold an in-camera session at 4 PM today to finalize the nomination for the next Chief Justice among the three senior-most judges, requiring a two-thirds majority for approval. Following the committee’s recommendation, the Prime Minister will submit the nomination to the President for final approval.
If any of the three senior-most judges declines the position, the next most senior judge will be considered. Currently, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah is the most senior judge, followed by Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi.
Under the new law, the CJP’s term is set at three years unless the judge reaches the retirement age of 65, resigns earlier, or is removed from office, as per changes to Article 179. Furthermore, the selection of the Chief Justice will no longer rely solely on seniority, but will instead be among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.
