- Minister says judges entered plea in Supreme Court.
- Minister says that the Supreme Court is not a proper forum.
- He says the 27th Amendment moves jurisdiction fully.
Minister of State for Law Aqeel Malik said on Thursday that the Federal Constitutional Court, not the Supreme Court, is empowered to hear constitutional issues after the 27th Amendment.
“Judges have tried to file their petition in the Supreme Court but the court is not the right forum for this request,” he said while speaking at Pakinomist News’ program “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath”.
Malik said the Supreme Court and the FCC had adopted their respective rules, adding: “The Constitutional Court has been established and all cases of a constitutional nature will now be heard by it.” He questioned why the judges had taken their plea to the Supreme Court in the first place.
According to him, the judges’ petition “should be filed with the Constitutional Court” since only the FCC has the power to hear it after the amendment.
Malik also rejected claims of any compromise on the independence of the judiciary, stating that the authority to transfer judges – previously held by the president – had now been vested in the Judicial Commission.
“Resigning is the prerogative of judges,” he said, adding that a misleading impression was being created regarding judicial resignation.
Meanwhile, sources said that four Islamabad High Court judges have decided to challenge the 27th Amendment in the Supreme Court with a draft of their petition prepared and forwarded. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan are among the petitioners, the sources added.
However, Supreme Court sources confirmed that no plea has yet been filed by the judges against the amendment. Sources in the Federal Constitutional Court also said no such plea had been filed there either.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition passed the 27th Amendment earlier this month, which brought changes to the judicial structure and military command.
A major structural change came in the form of the FCC, which was established as a new judicial forum with equal representation from all provinces. The amendment authorized the FCC to exercise independent authority over petitions.
The judicial review, which is part of the recent amendments, not only paved the way for the dissolution of the constitutional benches, but also, through the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment Bill 2025) Bill, transferred the power to constitute trial benches to a three-member committee headed by the Chief Justice.
The amendment gives the president and prime minister key roles in judicial appointments, while reducing certain powers of the Supreme Court and shifting some of its authority to the newly created FCC.
Following the passage of the amendment, Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah withdrew their posts in separate letters to President Asif Ali Zardari.
The jurists had criticized the 27th Amendment, describing it as a “serious attack on the Constitution of Pakistan”. However, the federal government called the judges’ dismissals “political speeches” and the latter’s claims “unconstitutional”.
Two days later, LHC judge Shams Mehmood Mirza followed in the footsteps of the jurists and resigned from his post “in protest against the recently passed 27th constitutional amendment.”
