President accepts resignations of Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has formally accepted the resignations of Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah.

Following the issuance of a notification by the President’s House, both judges have stepped down from their positions, leaving two key seats vacant in the Supreme Court.

According to sources, the judges submitted their resignations earlier, which were approved by the president after all legal formalities were completed.

The acceptance of their resignations has sparked fresh debate in judicial and legal circles, with experts analysing the potential implications of the development.

It is worth noting that both justices had tendered their resignations to the president yesterday.

The development came after both houses of Parliament passed the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, which was subsequently signed by President Asif Ali Zardari.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah submitted his resignation in both English and Urdu, describing the 27th Constitutional Amendment as a severe blow to democracy. He said the judiciary had been divided, setting the country back by decades.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that the 27th Constitutional Amendment has fractured the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He said the 27th Amendment has placed the judiciary under the control of the government.

In his resignation letter, Justice Athar Minallah said that when he took the oath of office 11 years ago, he swore to uphold not “a constitution” but “the Constitution.”

Justice Minallah wrote that prior to the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, he had written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, raising concerns about what the proposed changes meant for the country’s constitutional order.

“I need not reproduce the detailed contents of that letter, but suffice it to say that, against a backdrop of selective silence and inaction, those fears have now come true,” he added.

The judge lamented that the Constitution he had vowed to protect was “no more,” warning that the new foundations laid under the amendment rested upon its “grave.”