Pakistan adopts constitutional amendments aimed at courts

Pakistan's government on Monday narrowly passed a set of constitutional amendments that it said would prevent the country's courts from issuing rulings that “interfere with Parliament.”

Tensions between the state and the country's highest courts have intensified since February's national elections, which were marred by allegations of fraud as the country's most popular politician, Imran Khan, languished in prison .

Under judicial reforms passed in an overnight parliamentary session, Pakistan's chief justice will now be chosen by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years.

A new constitutional seat will also be formed.

“The aim of these amendments is to block judicial verdicts that interfere with Parliament,” Defense Minister Asif Khawaja said on Saturday, as the government sought support from small religious groups.

“Everyone agrees that we will not compromise on the supremacy of Parliament.”

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, won a two-thirds majority with the support of its long-time rival turned supply-and-demand partner, the Pakistan People's Party, and a religious party considered an ally of Khan.

The government secured 225 votes of the required 224 with crucial support from a handful of rebel lawmakers from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, state media broadcasting the session showed.

The PTI, the largest parliamentary group, refused to back the package despite offers to water down the amendments and reach a consensus deal, analysts said.

“These amendments amount to stifling a free judiciary. They do not represent the people of Pakistan,” PTI's Omar Ayub Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said during the session.

“A government formed in a fraudulent manner cannot amend the Constitution.”

The amendments come just days before the retirement of Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

Under the previous law, he would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him – currently, Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently delivered verdicts found favorable to Khan and his party.

Analyst Bilal Gilani, who heads Pakistan's main polling agency, said the amendments brought some “victories”, including balancing the activism of the judiciary.

“A more sinister aspect of this amendment creates a more flexible justice system in the face of government concerns,” he added.

– Victories and defeats –

Sharif leads a fragile coalition government that enjoys the support of the powerful military – although Khan's MPs won the most seats in February's elections.

In July, the Supreme Court ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan was wrong to exclude Khan's party from the election campaign by forcing its MPs to run as independents due to a technical violation.

It also granted Khan's party a handful of unelected seats reserved for women and religious minorities, which would give Khan's party a majority in Parliament.

Earlier this year, six judges of Pakistan's High Court accused the country's intelligence services of intimidating and coercing them in “politically important” cases.

Khan remains extremely popular and continues to challenge the establishment with frequent protests, although he languishes in prison on charges he says are politically motivated.

He was ousted from power in a vote of no confidence in 2022 after analysts said he had fallen out of favor with the generals.

He led a campaign of defiance against the military – a major red line in a country that has seen decades of military rule – that ended in a harsh crackdown on its leaders and supporters.

nz-ecl/fox

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