LHCBA challenges 26th Amendment in SC

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court contesting several clauses of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

Submitted by senior PTI lawyer Hamid Khan, the petition specifically targets sections 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 21, requesting that these provisions be declared unconstitutional.

The petition also seeks to invalidate any actions taken under these sections and calls for the suspension of the judicial commission and related proceedings while the case is ongoing.

The federation, judicial commission, National Assembly, Senate, speaker of the National Assembly, and the president are named as respondents in the petition.

Earlier, the LHCBA had unanimously passed a resolution condemning the 26th Constitutional Amendment, denouncing it as an assault on judicial independence and the rights of citizens.

The legal community voiced strong opposition, asserting that the amendment obstructs access to justice for ordinary people.

In the same session, the LHCBA had also demanded the immediate release of advocate Intezar Hussain Panjutha, who represents PTI's founding chairman, Imran Khan, giving the police a 24-hour ultimatum to produce him.