The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday disposed of the petitions, challenging the proposed 26th constitutional amendments when it was informed that the petitioners wanted to withdraw their pleas, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heard the case.
Other members on the bench were Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.
Hamid Khan, counsel for the petitioners, including Abid Zuberi, informed the court that his clients were no longer interested in pursuing the case.
The CJP remarked, “Have your clients hired your services only for this purpose?”
“Abid Zuberi could himself show up today and tell the court that he wanted to withdraw his petition,” he added.
The SC had on Saturday fixed for hearing on October 17 a petition seeking a declaration that the constitutional amendments proposed by the government could not be introduced or enacted by parliament.
Experts fear that the proposed amendments would virtually erode the independence of the judiciary by restricting the Supreme Court to only hearing appeals or petitions of civil and criminal nature.
Perturbed by the government’s plans, a group of lawyers, led by Abid Zuberi, had filed a petition in the apex court in September so that the government could be restrained from tabling the bill before parliament.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori