PHC dismisses petition against 26th Constitutional Amendment

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed against the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

A division bench of the PHC comprising Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Wiqar Ahmad heard the petition filed by Najib Ahmad.

The petitioner’s lawyer informed the court that the parliament had passed the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which raised several fundamental constitutional issues.

He pleaded that the way the amendment in question was introduced and subsequently passed was fundamentally incorrect and it posed a threat to the basic structure of the Constitution.

The petitioner’s lawyer argued that on the day the amendment was passed, the National Assembly did not have the required quorum, so the amendment should be declared invalid.

He also filed supplementary petitions to include the four provincial governments as parties, along with the federal government and other additional reasons and requested the court to accept them.

Initially, the petition had included the federal secretary for law and parliamentary affairs and the government as parties, but now the petitioner wanted to include the four provincial governments and other necessary grounds.

However, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah raised objections over the maintainability of the petition.

Upon this, the bench inquired why he had not been notified, to which he responded that the petitioner had already provided him with a pre-filing notice and that he had the relevant record.

The AAG argued that if the PHC was to hear this petition, it would have to issue notices to the four provincial governments because the petitioner had filed a supplementary petition in this regard. The PHC, he added, could only issue directions within the jurisdiction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so this petition was not maintainable.

He also pointed out that the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s constitutional bench had already decided to hear these cases, and they were currently under consideration there. He told the court that the PHC had not yet formed a constitutional bench, and this was a constitutional issue.

“If the PHC exercises authority for the entire country, it would be unconstitutional, as this authority belongs only to the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” he argued, adding that if the petitioner genuinely wished to file a petition, it should be withdrawn.

Upon this, the bench said that this was the initial stage, and they could not seek comments from anyone at this point.

The AAG then said that if the court wished to seek comments, it would have to consult the four provincial governments, which, constitutionally, was not possible. Therefore, the petitioner should withdraw the petition.

After hearing all the arguments, the court dismissed the petition after the petitioner opted to withdraw it.