Hafiz Naeemur Rehman says changes tilt power towards executive branch, undermining independence of judiciary
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has launched a fierce attack on the government’s sweeping constitutional reforms, accusing ministers of “distorting” the nation’s founding document and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.
Party member Hafiz Naeemur Rehman pledged to continue fighting to restore what he described as the original integrity of the constitution after the 27th Constitutional Amendment was passed by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. The measure now awaits a vote in the National Assembly.
The extensive amendment contains 59 proposed clauses, including provisions that have generated controversy. Article 243 would restructure the military command, while Article 248 seeks to grant the president lifetime legal immunity.
Under Article 200, the president would also gain powers to transfer high court judges between jurisdictions. Perhaps most controversially, the amendment proposes establishing a Constitutional Court, which critics say would fundamentally tilt the balance of judicial power.
Read more: 27th Amendment Rushed Through Senate Amid Opposition Strike
Speaking before members of the Lahore Bar Association at Aiwan-e-Adl, Rehman said his party had consistently defended the constitution throughout Pakistan’s history, but warned that these changes would give the executive branch decisive control over judicial appointments and the distribution of power.
He particularly focused on proposals to change the title of Chief Justice of Pakistan to Chief Justice, an adjustment he said would allow the prime minister to hand-pick the country’s most senior judge. “Now, the president of the Constitutional Court will be the one who chooses the prime minister,” he said. “This is direct interference and an attempt to influence the judiciary.”
The reforms, he argued, violated the fundamental spirit of the Constitution. “No individual, regardless of power, should be granted immunity above the law,” he said.
Rehman also questioned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s claims of economic progress, dismissing references to stock market performance as disconnected from the struggles of ordinary Pakistanis. “The prime minister keeps pointing to the stock market to claim that the economy is moving in the right direction, but the real economy and the lives of ordinary Pakistanis tell a completely different story,” he said.
He accused the public of hypocrisy in their dealings with the establishment, suggesting that parties praised or condemned the establishment depending on their own interests. “When the establishment supports us, we say ‘zindabad’ (long live), and when it supports someone else, we say ‘murdabad’ (death to),” he said. “This hypocrisy must end.”
The JI leader also criticized the Senate appointment process, alleging that financial influence determined who secured seats in the upper house, and condemned the fact that Punjab has not held local government elections since 2015. He described the promotion of non-partisan elections in the new Local Government Act as “unacceptable and undemocratic”, demanding a transparent, party-based electoral system for local bodies.
