Overview
- A petition filed at the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry by Barrister Ali Tahir asks the court to stop any move to initiate, debate, or pass the proposed 27th Amendment until the case is decided.
- The plea argues that curtailing powers under Articles 184(3) and 199 would erode judicial independence and citizens’ access to judicial review, calling such changes unconstitutional.
- The Pakistan Peoples Party has rejected most key clauses of the draft and agreed only to changes tied to Article 243, prompting the government to postpone a cabinet meeting that was slated to approve the bill.
- Reported draft measures include creating a Federal Constitutional Court that would take over constitutional matters, recasting the Supreme Court largely as an appellate forum, and raising judges’ retirement ages.
- Critics warn that reported revisions to Article 243 could consolidate military influence, while the government still lacks a two‑thirds majority in the Senate even if it can clear the National Assembly.