Two senior judges of the Supreme Court (SC), Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar, have written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi, urging him to convene a meeting of the Practice and Procedure Committee this week and to publish the minutes of the last meeting, held on October 31, on the website.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, in their letter, the judges emphasised that the Committee needs to meet to discuss petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and they requested that these petitions be heard by a full court.
They pointed out that they had already requested a committee meeting on October 31, but it has yet to be convened despite reminders.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar also stated that under Section 2, they convened the Committee meeting themselves to decide that the full court should review the 26th Amendment, with a hearing set for November 4.
However, no cause list has been issued, contrary to the committee’s decision, as mentioned in the letter.
The judges reiterated their appeal to the Chief Justice, asking him to ensure that the 26th Amendment petitions are presented before the full court this week and that the October 31 meeting minutes be published online.
The channel reported that this meeting took place in Justice Muneeb Akhtar’s chambers without CJP Justice Yahya Afridi, as he had not convened the committee as previously requested.
According to the minutes, the urgent nature of the matter led the judges to hold the meeting in Justice Muneeb Akhtar’s chambers. The Committee, comprising senior judges, reached a majority decision to schedule a hearing for the petitions on November 4, emphasising that the full court should preside over the case.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori