CJP Yahya Afridi calls full court meeting on 27th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has convened a full court meeting on Friday to discuss the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which was recently passed by both houses of Parliament.

Sources say the full court will examine matters related to the amendment in detail. The meeting comes after three Supreme Court judges requested the Chief Justice to hold a full court session.

Justice Salahuddin Panhwar wrote to Chief Justice Afridi urging a clause-by-clause review of the amendment. He stated that his letter was written “not in protest but as a matter of duty” and suggested consulting the “Law and Justice Commission” and other policy-making bodies to ensure the amendment does not affect the Constitution’s basic structure or institutional balance.

Earlier, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah also wrote letters calling for a full court meeting. Justice Minallah expressed concerns over threats facing the judiciary and regretted that the Supreme Court had sometimes been used as a tool by the “unelected elite” to suppress public opinion.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah warned that the judiciary must stay united to protect its independence, noting that history honours those who stood for the supremacy of the Constitution, not those who remained silent.

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