Right activists also challenge 26th amendment

Thirty-eight human rights activists and members of civil society from across Pakistan have filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the validity and constitutionality of the 26th Amendment that was bulldozed through Parliament in October last year.

As a group, these petitioners represent almost all religions, sects and ethnicities and come from all genders, age groups, socioeconomic classes and provinces in Pakistan. They include trade unionists, bonded labour and peasant representatives, student leaders, grassroots activists, and advocates for civil and political liberties, gender equality, equal citizenship and a free press.

While numerous petitions have been filed against the 26th Amendment, the aim of this civil society-led petition is to reflect the concerns of those who will be most impacted by the Amendment.

It is categorically nonpartisan and focuses entirely on the premise that the 26th Amendment is a targeted attack on people's fundamental rights and on the country's democratic structure.

The petition contends that the 26th Amendment was passed through abuse of power and gross violation of due process; that it attacks the nature of the social contract between the people and the state by effectively undoing the third pillar of the state—a free and independent judiciary. The petition contends that the 26th Amendment destroys the independence of the judiciary.

Not only does it give the executive and legislature an oversized role in the appointment of the chief justice of Pakistan and in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts, but it also gives the executive and legislature a role in deciding the composition of constitutional benches.

The petitioners contend that such ill-thought-out and dramatic changes will have far-reaching consequences for democracy since these measures violate the principle of the separation of powers and remove critical oversight mechanisms that safeguard against abuse of power by any single branch of the state, from our Constitution.