President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the resignations of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah.
According to an official announcement issued from the President’s X account, President Zardari accepted the resignations of the two Supreme Court judges.
As reported by Dawn News, both judges had tendered their resignations a day earlier. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah sent a 13-page resignation letter to the President, stating that he was resigning from the Supreme Court as its senior-most judge.
In his resignation, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stated that the 27th Constitutional Amendment is a serious attack on the Constitution of Pakistan, saying it has fragmented the Supreme Court.
He further said the 27th Amendment has placed the judiciary under the control of the government, dealing a severe blow to the spirit of constitutional democracy.
He wrote that justice has become distant from the common man, and the weak now stand helpless before power. By dividing the apex court, the independence of the judiciary has been violated.
Justice Shah stated that history shows such changes to the constitutional order do not last. He said he had two options: stay and witness the institution’s erosion, or resign in protest. Remaining in office, he wrote, would have amounted to silent approval of this constitutional intrusion.
He added that the 27th Amendment has stripped the Supreme Court of its constitutional authority, making it impossible to remain part of an institution whose constitutional role has been taken away. Resigning, he said, was the only clear and honest path aligned with his oath.
Justice Shah also said that the government and the disputed judicial leadership had accepted the amendment, and that the Chief Justice prioritized his position over defending the institution. He stressed that Pakistan has always had only one Supreme Court.
In his resignation, he wrote that the 27th Amendment has established a new Federal Constitutional Court above the Supreme Court, a court that he said is incompatible with the judicial, democratic, and legal framework of the country.
