Supreme Court Justice Amin-ud-Din on Wednesday urged that the existing 26th Constitutional Amendment continue to be relied upon until any new changes are made to the Constitution. His remarks came during proceedings of an eight-member constitutional bench, headed by him, which is hearing petitions challenging the parliamentary amendments made in October 2024. Other members of the bench include Justice Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan, and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. In line with the apex court’s earlier decision, the hearing was live-streamed on the Supreme Court’s official YouTube channel. The session follows Tuesday’s resumption of the case after a nine-month hiatus, during which the court allowed live streaming of the proceedings for public access. Multiple parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), as well as various bar associations and former presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), had challenged the amendment back in October 2024. The tweaks in the constitution, which have since come into effect, require the legislature to pick the chief justice, fixing the top post’s tenure, and forming constitutional benches. 26th Amendment in a glance 1. Chief Justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) tenure fixed at three years.2. Constitutional benches to be established at the SC and high courts.3. Senior-most judge of each bench to serve as presiding officer.4. Parliamentary committee to nominate new CJP from panel of three most senior judges.5. Committee to propose name to PM, who will then forward it to president for final approval.6. JCP, led by CJP and three others, responsible for appointment of SC judges.7. JCP to monitor judges’ performance, report any concerns to Supreme Judicial Council.8. Complete eradication of Riba (interest) from country by January 1, 2028.
Rely on 26th Amendment for now, says Justice Amin-ud-Din
