ISLAMABAD: Tehreek Tahaffuz-i-Ain Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has approached the Supreme Court (SC), seeking action over the delay in fixing petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment despite a binding order of the apex court’s Practice and Procedure Act Committee.
Filed through counsel Shahid Jamil Khan under Article 184(3), the petition contends that the committee — by a 2-1 majority on Oct 31, 2023 — had directed the registrar to list the petitions before a full court on Nov 4, but the order was never implemented.
Khokhar argued that neither the registrar nor any administrative authority had the competence to disregard the committee’s lawful decision.
He maintained that judicial independence is a foundational principle, and deviation undermines the rule of law, fair trial, and due process guaranteed under Articles 4, 9, 10A and 25 of the Constitution.
The petition also rejected reasons cited by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, including informal consultations and jurisdictional objections, as having no legal basis to override the committee’s formal statutory mandate. It claimed that non-compliance amounted to administrative impropriety, frustrated legislative intent, and eroded institutional integrity.
CJP Afridi has faced criticism after committee minutes revealed he ignored the majority decision of Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar to form a full court.
Instead, the CJP informally polled judges, with nine favouring a constitutional bench. Lawyers have termed the move unlawful and contrary to transparency.
Since then, the constitutional bench has yet to decide the petitions, while the legality of the bench itself remains under challenge. Judges Shah and Akhtar have repeatedly urged a full court, stressing that the amendment carries far-reaching constitutional implications.
