Pakistan’s government has introduced a major constitutional change that has sparked widespread debate and protests across the country. The proposed 27th constitutional amendment, which will be voted on in Parliament next week, seeks to restructure the military’s chain of command and overhaul the judiciary, prompting strong criticism from the Opposition.
The bill, tabled in the Senate on Saturday after cabinet approval, proposes to abolish the post of chairman joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC) and replace it with a new and more powerful position -- chief of defence forces (CDF).
According to reports in Dawn, the post will be held by the serving chief of army staff, who will also become the constitutional head of the army, navy and air force. This change would make General Asim Munir the most powerful military officer in Pakistan’s history, formalising his recent promotion to Field Marshal.
The amendment also includes plans to set up a new federal constitutional court (FCC) and change how high court judges are appointed. It seeks to transfer some powers from the Supreme Court to the new court, while also granting the president lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution.
Pakistan law minister Azam Nazir Tarar presented the bill in the senate, where chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani referred it to a committee led by Farooq Naek for review. Naek said the goal was to “create consensus among members” before the bill comes up for voting on Monday. The government is confident of securing a two-thirds majority in both the senate and the national assembly.
Opposition backlash and protests
Opposition parties have strongly opposed the amendment, calling it a direct threat to Pakistan’s Constitution. A coalition of opposition groups, the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), which includes Imran Khan’s PTI, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) has announced nationwide protests starting Sunday.
“Democratic institutions have been paralysed within Pakistan… the nation must step up against the [proposed] 27th Amendment,” MWM chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said.
PkMAP leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai said the protests would begin with the slogan: “Long live democracy, down with dictatorship.” He warned, “The opposition alliance had no choice but to launch a protest movement following the government’s move, which is shaking the foundations of the Constitution.”
Divided legal opinions
Legal experts are split on the amendment’s impact. Critics say it would reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, making it “irrelevant,” and tighten executive control over the judiciary.
One senior counsel told Dawn, “Left with a limited jurisdiction of deciding ordinary civil, criminal and statutory appeals, the Supreme Court has now become all the more a ‘Supreme District Court’.”
Former additional attorney general Tariq Mehmood Khokhar warned that the changes would “empower [the new] Federal Constitutional Court by disempowering the Supreme Court.” He said the amendment also gives the Chief of the Defence Forces constitutional authority for life, formally recognising the Field Marshal rank.
Another lawyer pointed out that under the new Article 175A, the chief justice of the FCC would outrank the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and serve until the age of 68 -- three years longer than the current limit of 65.
Support for reforms
Some legal experts, however, have welcomed the changes. Senior counsel Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar called the 27th Amendment “a major and long-awaited structural shift” in Pakistan’s justice system.
He said the plan to have two separate apex courts -- one for appeals (Supreme Court) and one for constitutional cases (FCC) -- would bring “greater clarity, efficiency and constitutional coherence.”
He also argued that the reforms could reduce political influence in the judiciary, cut down case backlogs, and modernise the justice system.
Khokhar added that the new defence structure under Article 243 was in line with “modern constitutional democracies,” ensuring that the armed forces would operate under a single advisory framework accountable to the prime minister, defence minister and National Security Committee.
Newly elected Supreme Court Bar Association in Pakistan, President Haroonur Rasheed also supported the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court, saying it could help streamline the judicial process.
The current move mirrors the era of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s longest-serving de facto head of state, who introduced sweeping constitutional changes to entrench military control under a civilian façade. The proposed 27th Amendment, risks reviving that legacy by placing the armed forces once again at the centre of Pakistan’s political structure.
The bill, tabled in the Senate on Saturday after cabinet approval, proposes to abolish the post of chairman joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC) and replace it with a new and more powerful position -- chief of defence forces (CDF).
According to reports in Dawn, the post will be held by the serving chief of army staff, who will also become the constitutional head of the army, navy and air force. This change would make General Asim Munir the most powerful military officer in Pakistan’s history, formalising his recent promotion to Field Marshal.
The amendment also includes plans to set up a new federal constitutional court (FCC) and change how high court judges are appointed. It seeks to transfer some powers from the Supreme Court to the new court, while also granting the president lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution.
Pakistan law minister Azam Nazir Tarar presented the bill in the senate, where chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani referred it to a committee led by Farooq Naek for review. Naek said the goal was to “create consensus among members” before the bill comes up for voting on Monday. The government is confident of securing a two-thirds majority in both the senate and the national assembly.
Opposition backlash and protests
Opposition parties have strongly opposed the amendment, calling it a direct threat to Pakistan’s Constitution. A coalition of opposition groups, the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), which includes Imran Khan’s PTI, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) has announced nationwide protests starting Sunday.
“Democratic institutions have been paralysed within Pakistan… the nation must step up against the [proposed] 27th Amendment,” MWM chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said.
PkMAP leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai said the protests would begin with the slogan: “Long live democracy, down with dictatorship.” He warned, “The opposition alliance had no choice but to launch a protest movement following the government’s move, which is shaking the foundations of the Constitution.”
Divided legal opinions
Legal experts are split on the amendment’s impact. Critics say it would reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, making it “irrelevant,” and tighten executive control over the judiciary.
One senior counsel told Dawn, “Left with a limited jurisdiction of deciding ordinary civil, criminal and statutory appeals, the Supreme Court has now become all the more a ‘Supreme District Court’.”
Former additional attorney general Tariq Mehmood Khokhar warned that the changes would “empower [the new] Federal Constitutional Court by disempowering the Supreme Court.” He said the amendment also gives the Chief of the Defence Forces constitutional authority for life, formally recognising the Field Marshal rank.
Another lawyer pointed out that under the new Article 175A, the chief justice of the FCC would outrank the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and serve until the age of 68 -- three years longer than the current limit of 65.
Support for reforms
Some legal experts, however, have welcomed the changes. Senior counsel Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar called the 27th Amendment “a major and long-awaited structural shift” in Pakistan’s justice system.
He said the plan to have two separate apex courts -- one for appeals (Supreme Court) and one for constitutional cases (FCC) -- would bring “greater clarity, efficiency and constitutional coherence.”
He also argued that the reforms could reduce political influence in the judiciary, cut down case backlogs, and modernise the justice system.
Khokhar added that the new defence structure under Article 243 was in line with “modern constitutional democracies,” ensuring that the armed forces would operate under a single advisory framework accountable to the prime minister, defence minister and National Security Committee.
Newly elected Supreme Court Bar Association in Pakistan, President Haroonur Rasheed also supported the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court, saying it could help streamline the judicial process.
The current move mirrors the era of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s longest-serving de facto head of state, who introduced sweeping constitutional changes to entrench military control under a civilian façade. The proposed 27th Amendment, risks reviving that legacy by placing the armed forces once again at the centre of Pakistan’s political structure.
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