Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet approved amendments to the Pakistan Army, Air Force and Navy Acts to harmonize them with the 27th amendment, including provisions on the new Chief of Defence Forces and ending the CJCSC post after the incumbent retires.
- The cabinet also cleared the draft Federal Constitutional Court (Procedure & Practice) Act, 2025, a key step to operationalize the newly created Federal Constitutional Court.
- Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah resigned, describing the amendment as a grave attack on the Constitution that fragments the Supreme Court and subordinates the judiciary.
- Justice Salahuddin Panhwar urged Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to call a full-court meeting for clause-by-clause scrutiny of the amendment, as senior lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan quit the Law & Justice Commission citing the changed environment.
- Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarrar outlined that the more senior of the two chiefs will serve as Chief Justice of Pakistan and detailed Article 63A defection procedures, while Senate debate over floor-crossing persisted and reports indicated Justice Aminuddin is likely to be named head of the Constitutional Court.