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Pakistan Enacts 27th Amendment Reshaping Judiciary and Military as Two Supreme Court Judges Resign

Opponents warn the overhaul endangers judicial independence.

Overview

  • President Asif Ali Zardari signed the amendment into law after two‑thirds approvals in both houses, with votes reported as 234–4 in the National Assembly and 64–4 in the Senate.
  • The law creates a Federal Constitutional Court to hear constitutional cases, curtailing the Supreme Court’s remit, and the new court’s chief justice was sworn in on Friday.
  • Field Marshal Asim Munir is elevated to chief of defence forces with command over all services, and the government says his five‑year term restarts with the new post.
  • Five‑star ranks such as field marshal, marshal of the air force and admiral of the fleet now carry lifelong rank, privileges and immunity from criminal prosecution.
  • Parliament swiftly passed aligned amendments to the Army, Air Force and Navy Acts and to Supreme Court practice rules, abolishing the CJCSC post after the incumbent and creating a National Strategic Command, as Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah quit in protest.