United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk has voiced concern over the newly enacted 26th Constitutional Amendment, saying it was “adopted hastily and without broad consultation and debate”.
The ruling coalition, after weeks of political manoeuvrings and deliberations, finally managed to pass the contentious 26th Constitutional Amendment bill, empowering the country’s parliament to pick the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) from among the three most senior Supreme Court judges.
RecommendedMust Read
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Turk said that “hastily adopted” amendments will “seriously undermine the independence of the judiciary”.
“Constitutional reforms must be in line with international human rights law,” the statement added.
The passage of the contentious package drew strong criticism from the opposition and lawyers community, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vowing to launch a protest movement across the country.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also expressed strong reservations over certain aspects of the amendments.
The amendments brought numerous changes to the country’s judicial system, including taking away suo motu powers, formation of constitutional benches, and performance evaluations of high court judges.
