March 11, 2025
By Rehan Piracha
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LAHORE
In an effort to safeguard democracy and fundamental rights, 38 human rights activists and civil society members from across Pakistan have submitted a petition to the Supreme Court, contesting the constitutional validity of the 26th Amendment.
The petitioners have demanded an independent inquiry into the alleged coercion of parliamentary votes that led to the passage of the controversial amendment. They represent a diverse cross-section of Pakistani society, spanned religions, sects, ethnicities, genders, age groups, and socioeconomic classes.
This civil society-led petition stands apart from others by amplifying the voices of those most vulnerable to the amendment’s far-reaching consequences. The group includes trade unionists, bonded labor representatives, peasant leaders, student activists, and advocates for gender equality, civil liberties, and press freedom.
Their collective plea is nonpartisan, focusing squarely on the amendment’s threat to Pakistan’s democratic framework and the fundamental rights of its citizens.
A blow to judicial independence
At the heart of the petition is the assertion that the 26th Amendment undermines the independence of the judiciary, a cornerstone of Pakistan’s Constitution. The amendment grants the executive and legislature unprecedented control over judicial appointments, including the selection of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. It also empowers these branches to influence the composition of constitutional benches, which hold exclusive authority over cases involving fundamental rights and government overreach.
The petitioners argue that these changes erode the separation of powers, a critical safeguard against the abuse of state authority. By concentrating power in the hands of the executive and legislature, the amendment strips the judiciary of its role as an impartial arbiter, leaving citizens vulnerable to unchecked governmental overreach.
A threat to fundamental rights
The petition highlights how the 26th Amendment jeopardizes the fundamental rights of Pakistan’s citizens. It shifts the adjudication of cases involving human rights violations, unlawful government actions, and interprovincial disputes to benches dominated by the executive and legislature. This, the petitioners contend, removes vital oversight mechanisms and raises serious questions about the neutrality and independence of such benches.
The amendment’s implications are dire: it weakens protections against forced evictions, enforced disappearances, and other human rights abuses. It also empowers the state to suppress press freedom, curtail the rights of workers, peasants, students, and religious and ethnic minorities, and stifle dissent through brute force.
Consequences for provincial autonomy
The petition further warns that the amendment could enable the central government to manipulate the distribution of provincial resources, including water rights, food security, and climate resilience, by placing interprovincial disputes under the purview of government-appointed benches. This, the petitioners argue, could exacerbate existing inequalities and undermine the autonomy of Pakistan’s provinces.
While acknowledging the historical shortcomings of an over-empowered judiciary, the petition emphasizes that the 26th Amendment goes too far in dismantling judicial independence—a feature explicitly recognized by the Supreme Court as a cornerstone of Pakistan’s Constitution. The petitioners urge a full bench of the Supreme Court to hear all challenges to the amendment and strike it down as unconstitutional.
The petition is backed by a coalition of prominent activists, including Muhammad Tahseen, Executive Director of South Asia Partnership-Pakistan, Syeda Ghulam Fatima, General Secretary of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, Pushpa Kumari, minority rights activist from Tharparkar, Nargis Sulamani, lawyer and activist from Balochistan’s Dasht region, Nayyab Ali, transgender rights activist, Amber Rahim Shamsi, journalist, Jalila Haider, lawyer and activist from Quetta, Farieha Aziz, Co-founder of Bolo Bhi, Maryam Hussain, artist and educator. This diverse coalition underscores the widespread concern over the 26th Amendment’s potential to undermine democracy and human rights in Pakistan.