President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday accepted the resignations of Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah. The judges stepped down a day after the 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law, which they criticized as unconstitutional and harmful to judicial independence.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, in a 13-page resignation letter in Urdu and English, described the amendment as a “grave assault” on the Supreme Court. He said it placed the judiciary under executive control and weakened constitutional democracy, making access to justice “more distant, fragile, and vulnerable.” Justice Athar Minallah said he could not recognize the new legal framework as legitimate and claimed the Constitution he had sworn to uphold was “no more.”
Read more: Two Supreme Court judges resign over 27th constitutional amendment
Both judges had requested a full court meeting with Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to discuss the amendment, but the Supreme Court instead approved the SC Rules, 2025. Their resignations mark a rare protest against a constitutional change by sitting judges in Pakistan.
The 27th Amendment, approved by the National Assembly and Senate with two-thirds majorities, added eight new clauses, including a revision to Article 6(2) barring any court from validating acts of “high treason,” including a newly created Federal Constitutional Court. Opposition parties protested, claiming the amendment consolidates government power and weakens constitutional safeguards.
Read more: 27th Amendment jolts SC as two judges tender resignations
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan called the legislation “undemocratic” and vowed to challenge it through all available legal forums. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the amendment, saying the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s office would remain intact under the current leadership of Chief Justice Afridi.