ISLAMABAD :Next week, the Supreme Court will consider a constitutional petition challenging the proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment and the objections raised by its Registrar Office.
A three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and including Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shahid Bilal Hassan, is scheduled to hear the case on October 17, just a week before CJ Isa’s retirement on October 25.
Petitioner Abid Zuberi has asked the court to declare the proposed amendments unconstitutional, arguing they violate the Constitution’s basic framework, the principle of separation of powers, judicial independence, and fundamental rights.
On September 18, the Registrar’s Office returned the original petition, stating it was not entertainable because it sought to challenge a document that has not yet become law. The office noted that the proposed law had not been introduced in parliament.
It emphasized that only members of the National Assembly and Senate can pass a bill and that the listed respondents, including the Federation, Provinces, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, and President, are not parliament members.
The Registrar’s Office pointed out that the authority to make laws resides with the legislature, and hypothetical questions were raised in the petition.
The petitioners, who claimed to be members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), were advised to approach their respective bodies for authorization to represent them.
Additionally, the Balochistan Bar Council has also challenged the 26th Constitutional Amendment in the Supreme Court, while various high courts have received petitions against it.
The Islamabad High Court has reserved its decision on a petition from former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, which seeks to compel the federal government to publicly disclose the proposed amendment and solicit public feedback before its passage.
The proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment includes significant changes to the country’s legal framework, such as raising the retirement age for Supreme Court judges and establishing a constitutional court.
