Pakistan passes constitutional amendments to prevent court 'interference'

Pakistan's government narrowly passed on Monday a package of constitutional amendments it said would stop the country's courts from issuing rulings that "interfere in parliament". (Photo/AP)

Pakistan's government narrowly passed on Monday a package of constitutional amendments it said would stop the country's courts from issuing rulings that "interfere in parliament".

Under the judicial reforms passed during a late night session of parliament, the chief justice of Pakistan will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years.

A new constitutional bench will be also formed.

"The goal of the amendments is to block the judicial verdicts that interfere in parliament," Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Saturday as the government courted support from smaller religious groups.

"Everybody agrees that we will not compromise on the supremacy of the parliament."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party scraped together a two-thirds majority with the backing of its long-time rival turned partner Pakistan People's Party, and a religious party considered an ally of opposition leader Imran Khan.

Some 'wins'

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

PTI, the largest bloc in parliament, had refused to back the package despite offers to water down the amendments and settle a consensus deal, analysts said.

"These amendments are akin to suffocating a free judiciary. They do not represent the people of Pakistan," said PTI's Omar Ayub Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, during the session.

The amendments come just days before the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Qazi Faez Isa, is due to retire.

Under the previous law, he would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him — currently, Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently issued verdicts deemed favourable to Khan and his party.

Analyst Bilal Gilani, who heads Pakistan’s leading polling agency, said the amendments have some "wins" — including bringing balance to the activism of the judiciary.

"A more sinister side of this amendment creates a judiciary that is more pliant with the concerns of the government," he added.

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Source: TRT