Islamabad, May 15, 2026
The 26th and 27th Amendments have taken away judicial independence in Pakistan which had been guaranteed by the Constitution. Judicial independence in Pakistan is not secure and now lies in the hands of parliament and executive.
Expressing concerns, the local media warned that action can be taken against judges at any stage if they do not act according to the orders issued by the executive.
“It is through this change that judges are now being subjected to extreme pressure. Those judges who do not cede to governmental pressure are removed from their courts and sent to others where they would not be able to, in any way, protect the people from the hawkish eye of the government.
It is said that the Constitution protects citizens against the power of the government. However, in this case, the opposite seems to have happened — the Constitution appears to be protecting the government from the people who chose to submit to the country’s basic law in 1973,” Anwar Mansoor Khan, a senior advocate of Pakistan’s Supreme Court and former Attorney General of Pakistan, wrote in leading Pakistani daily Dawn.
A judicial disaster occurred in Pakistan on April 28, with the 26th and 27th Amendments puncturing the judiciary’s independence. Three judges were transferred from the Islamabad High Court to three other High Courts.
The authorities said that the transfer orders were issued to fill vacancies in those High Courts. However, in reality it would create vacancies in the Islamabad High Court to appoint likeminded judges in the capital area.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) held a meeting to discuss the transfers, as its members called a meeting despite the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s refusal to convene it. The Chief Justice termed it an intrusion upon judicial independence. However, the meeting was held and the judges were transferred through a majority vote, according to the article in Dawn.
The 26th and 27th Amendments were aimed to make the judiciary subservient to the executive. The JCP’s composition was changed so that executive, through parliament, got a majority. The choice of judges would be made through a vote within the JCP instead of merit. It was the starting point and the issues has now resulted in the transfer of judges from High Court to another without their consent.
The establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) was the first step, the appointment of the first batch of judges was made under the second and third provisions of Clause (3) of Article 175-A of the Constitution, which allows the appointment of the Chief Justice and other judges of the court by the President on the Prime Minister’s advice. Judges who are trusted them are appointed to the FCC.
“The next nail in the coffin of judicial independence was the amendment that provides for the transfer of judges from one high court to another to be undertaken without their consent, and as may be determined by the JCP, unlike the original provision, under which the transfer of judges could not be made without the consent of the judge concerned.
Article 200 of the Constitution was purposely amended with a view to removing the provision which required the consent of the judge. In effect, the judges are now being equated with civil servants, where the latter sign an undertaking that they would, without objection, serve wherever they are required to serve in Pakistan or abroad,” Anwar Mansoor Khan wrote in Dawn.
“Thus, consent is obtained from them before they are so appointed. A judge who does not accept transfer directives can face disciplinary action. On joining the superior courts, judges believed that no pressure of any kind would be exerted by the executive, and that they would serve in the high courts to which they had been appointed under the Constitution.
The 26th and 27th Amendments have taken away that judicial independence which had been guaranteed by the Constitution, specifically in the Objectives Resolution, which is an integral part of the Constitution and the Preamble to the Constitution. It guarantees that ‘the independence of the judiciary shall be fully secured’,” he added.(Agency)
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