28 female lawyers challenge 26th Amendment

Contend that lawmakers were forced to vote in favour of bill

ISLAMABAD:

A group of 28 female lawyers, including Zainab Janjua and Imaan Mazari, has filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court against the 26th Constitutional Amendment passed by parliament last month.

In the petition, the lawyers have raised questions about the manner in which the amendment bill was passed, contending that lawmakers were coerced to vote in favor of the amendments.

They said the amendments could not be regarded as lawful as an entire province—Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P)—does not have due and proper representation in the Senate.

They said the constitutional amendment could not be lawfully passed when the decision of the Supreme Court in the Sunni Ittehad Council vs the Election Commission of Pakistan case has not been implemented, and as a result, "the voice of marginalized sections of society has been excluded."

The petitioners urged that court to declare that the 26th Amendment is procedurally defective as parliamentarians have cast their votes under duress. They requested the court to strike down the amendment.

"[The court should also] declare that no constitutional amendment can lawfully be passed when one province does not have representation in the Senate," the petition added.