Two Pakistan Supreme Court Judges Resign Over 27th Amendment
Two senior judges of the Pakistan Supreme Court resigned after strongly opposing the newly passed 27th Constitutional Amendment. President Asif Ali Zardari accepted the resignations of Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah on Friday. Both judges submitted detailed letters warning that the amendment is undemocratic and harmful to the Constitution.
Both judges sent their resignation letters soon after the amendment became law. They argued that the 27th Amendment is a “grave assault on the Constitution of Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, the federal government dismissed their criticism as “political speeches” and called their allegations “unconstitutional.”
Justice Shah submitted a 13-page resignation letter, calling the law an:
“assault on the Constitution that dismantles the Supreme Court, compromises judicial independence and weakens the country’s constitutional democracy.”
His resignation came one day after Pakistan’s National Assembly passed the amendment despite major pushback from several political groups and legal experts.
The 27th Amendment restructures Pakistan’s judicial system by adjusting the roles, seniority and titles of judges in the newly formed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).
Key changes include:
The amendment refines the structure of the FCC and clarifies how top judicial positions are ranked.
The amendment modifies Article 176 to ensure that “the incumbent Chief Justice shall continue to be known as the Chief Justice of Pakistan during his term in office.”
Clause 56 now states that the Chief Justice of Pakistan is “the senior among the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”
This formally places the FCC and Supreme Court in a new hierarchy.
Justice Shah wrote that the amendment was passed “without debate or consultation”, and argued that it elevates the FCC above the Supreme Court, thereby undermining judicial independence.
He said he could not serve in a court “stripped of its constitutional authority,” adding that staying would mean accepting “a constitutional wrong.” He also said his hopes after the 26th Amendment had “been extinguished.”
Both judges warned that the amendment marks “the beginning of the end” for an independent judiciary. They noted that a nation loses its moral direction when its judicial system is weakened.
In his resignation letter, Justice Athar Minallah wrote that the Constitution he vowed to defend “no longer exists” and survives only as a shadow without its spirit.
He said he had already warned the Chief Justice before the amendment was passed, but his concerns were met with “silence and inaction.”
Justice Minallah stated that remaining in office would violate his oath and disrespect the legacy of the Pakistani Constitution.
