Karachi lawyers march to protest parliament’s ‘unconstitutional’ 26th amendment

KARACHI: Lawyers in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Saturday marched in protest against what they described as an “unconstitutional” amendment passed by parliament earlier this week to introduce extensive judicial reforms, announcing their plan to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Pakistan’s parliament narrowly approved the 26th Constitutional Amendment on Monday, granting lawmakers the authority to nominate the Chief Justice of Pakistan, among other changes to the Supreme Court’s structure and functioning.
The controversial amendment allowed the government to bypass the senior-most judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, in favor of appointing Justice Yahya Afridi as the country’s top judge, replacing former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa. This decision was made by a 12-member parliamentary committee established under the new amendment.
As Afridi took oath as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan at a ceremony at the President’s House in Islamabad on Saturday, lawyers rallied under the banner of the Karachi Bar Association for a demonstration, although many members of the legal fraternity were absent from the protest.
“If anyone chosen by parliament or the [security] establishment is in power [at the top court], then justice will not be served,” Aamir Nawaz Warraich, the association’s president, told Arab News, asserting that the protest would gain momentum as lawyers prepared to challenge the amendment in court.
“We will definitely challenge the amendment in the Supreme Court,” he added.
Among the few dozen protesters, a lawyer who identified herself only as Advocate Tania, denied reports of internal fissures among the lawyers, explaining that many of them were absent due to their involvement in election campaigns for legal bodies.
“We stand against everything that has been done to the constitution,” she said. “We will not accept the 26th amendment under any circumstances.”
Zubair Ahmed Abro, Vice President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, argued that parliament had overstepped its authority.
“Our leadership at the national level, as well as the Karachi Bar Association, who are leading this march and struggle, have clearly stated that the 26th amendment is unconstitutional,” he said.
“Lawmakers cannot change the basic structure of the constitution,” he continued. “In this way, they have attempted to curtail the independence of the judiciary.”
Abro hinted at larger rallies in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan in the coming days.
“We will not tolerate any attempt to interfere in the independence of the judiciary,” he added.