A fresh fissure has emerged within Pakistan’s top court after a letter authored by Supreme Court Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar accused Chief Justice Yahya Afridi of disregarding what they termed a “legally binding” decision of the Supreme Court Committee. At the heart of the dispute is the handling of challenges to the controversial 26th Constitutional Amendment, which reshaped judicial authority and tenure, sparking intense debate over the judiciary’s independence.
According to the letter, dated October 31, 2024, Justices Shah and Akhtar, both members of the Supreme Court Committee established under the Practice and Procedure Act, 2023, had pushed for the petitions against the amendment to be heard by a Full Court. They argued that only such a forum could restore public trust in an institution already under strain from political pressures.
Chief Justice Afridi, however, rejected the proposal, insisting the cases be referred instead to a Constitutional Bench — a body created under the very amendment under question. The two justices claimed they convened a formal Committee meeting that same day, which, by majority vote, resolved to schedule the petitions for hearing before a Full Court on November 4, 2024. Yet, the Supreme Court Registrar never acted on this decision, even after repeated follow-ups.
The CJP, who had not attended the meeting, later issued written notes defending his refusal, saying a Full Court hearing might harm judicial collegiality and increase public scrutiny of the judiciary. These notes, uploaded to the Supreme Court’s website months later, were never shared with Committee members at the time. Instead, they were presented before the Judicial Commission — a move Justices Shah and Akhtar described as improper and legally unsound.
The judges further objected to the unexpected publication of the Committee’s October 31 meeting minutes online, despite an earlier decision to keep them restricted. They linked the move to the planned resumption of Constitutional Benches in September 2025. They also noted that recent changes to the Practice and Procedure Act had removed Justice Akhtar from the Committee, a step they viewed as an attempt to consolidate power in the hands of the CJP.
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The controversy comes amid wider criticism of the 26th Amendment, passed in 2024, which opposition parties and legal experts — particularly from the PTI — argue was designed to block Justice Shah, the senior-most judge, from eventually becoming Chief Justice.
Calling for transparency, Justices Shah and Akhtar demanded their letter also be published on the Supreme Court’s website, warning that they would release it publicly if ignored.
They lamented that the judiciary had “lost, perhaps irretrievably, a golden opportunity” to resolve the matter before a Full Court, a forum whose decision would have carried “unquestionable legitimacy” both in law and in public perception.