300 Pakistani Lawyers Urge Judges to Reject Proposed Constitutional Court

Around 300 lawyers from various provinces in Pakistan have urged judges of the superior judiciary not to participate in any proposed constitutional court, even if such bills are approved by the Pakistan Parliament.

In an open letter addressed to the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the High Courts, the senior lawyers stated, “We urge you not to recognize this proposed court if such a bill is passed.” They added, “We urge those of you who may be hand-picked to serve on it not to do so. Complicity will offer no defence of the Constitution; it will be its defacement.”

Among the signatories are prominent lawyers such as Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar, Abid Saqi, Riasat Ali Azad, Abid Hassan Minto, Bilal Hassan Minto, Salahuddin Ahmed, Afzal Harifal, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, and Mohammad Jibran Nasir.

The lawyers expressed concern that the higher judiciary has, for many decades, legitimized a sustained assault on the Constitution and democracy in Pakistan. They noted, “We remember the pen that first carved necessity on the tombstone of our first Constituent Assembly. We recall all the instances when it prevented an elected government from completing its term. We also remember the last time a PCO (Provisional Constitution Order) was upheld.”

The lawyers asserted that there is no distinction between a PCO court and the proposed constitutional court. “We view the proposed court as no different; it will be a PCO court, and those who take the oath to serve on it will be PCO judges. However, we also remember how you, yourselves, corrected history by overturning that same decision. Your own judgments now recount how our courts have failed us. This moment presents you with a choice. The very fact that an attempt is being made to mutilate our courts indicates that–today–you are not yet on the wrong side of history. We urge you: do not yield. When today’s history is recorded in tomorrow’s judgments, let it be said that you were not complicit.”

The letter further criticized the draft of the proposed amendments, stating that it was introduced under the cover of darkness. “An assault on our constitutional compact is being cloaked in the thin guise of arguments grounded in the supremacy of law. These arguments do not withstand the slightest intellectual scrutiny. Behind ill-considered references to foreign jurisdictions and critiques of the judicial system that this amendment cannot actually fix lies a plain proposal,” the letter claimed.

A week ago, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), along with the bar councils and associations from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, agreed on the Parliament’s authority to enact a constitutional amendment. However, they expressed concerns about any modifications to the fundamental structure of the Constitution.

Previously, practicing lawyers from the apex court and other high courts voiced their worries in an open letter about the “possible infringements” on judicial independence and constitutional principles. The letter further claimed that the proposal to permit the transfer of high court judges between provinces is a malicious attempt to undermine both judicial independence and provincial autonomy.