ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday appointed Justice Aminuddin Khan as the first chief justice of Pakistan’s newly created Federal Constitutional Court, moving swiftly to implement a sweeping constitutional overhaul that has already prompted the resignation of two senior Supreme Court judges in protest.
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Chief Justice summons emergency full-court meeting as constitutional crisis deepens
ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Thursday summoned an emergency full-court meeting of all Supreme Court judges for Friday morning, bowing to a third judicial plea in as many days for the court to confront the far-reaching 27th Constitutional Amendment that President Asif Ali Zardari formally enacted into law only hours earlier.
Pakistan says suicide bomber in Islamabad attack came from Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD The interior minister told the Senate on Thursday that the suicide bomber who killed 12 people and wounded 35 in an attack on the capital’s judicial complex on Tuesday was “related to Afghanistan,” the clearest official accusation yet that the assault originated across the border.
Two top Supreme Court justices quit as new law strips court of constitutional powers
ISLAMABAD: Two of Pakistan’s most respected Supreme Court justices, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah, resigned on Thursday only hours after President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law the 27th Constitutional Amendment, a sweeping overhaul that shifts the power to interpret the Constitution from the Supreme Court to a new Federal Constitutional Court whose judges will be appointed through a process dominated by the government.
In nine minutes, parliament redefines military command and court structure
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday pushed through a rapid cascade of legislative changes that reshape the country’s military command structure and further alter its judicial architecture, less than 24 hours after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment into law.
Chaotic National Assembly session sees approval of 27th Constitutional Amendment
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in a chaotic session marked by opposition protests, walkouts and heated exchanges, paving the way for the creation of a federal constitutional court and other reforms long envisioned under the country’s Charter of Democracy.
National Assembly set to pass 27th constitutional overhaul reshaping judiciary, military
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly appeared poised on Wednesday to approve a sweeping constitutional overhaul that would reshape the country’s judiciary and military institutions, after the lower house took up the measure amid fierce opposition protests and a boycott by critics who decried it as an assault on democratic principles.
Justice Aminuddin Khan tipped to head new Federal Constitutional Court
ISLAMABAD: Justice Aminuddin Khan, who currently heads the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (SC), is expected to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the upcoming Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), a new judicial body aimed at easing the Supreme Court’s caseload and focusing on constitutional matters, Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Security forces kill all five attackers in cadet school siege, avert potential massacre
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed all five militants who had stormed a cadet college in the restive northwest, officials said on Wednesday, in an operation that evacuated hundreds of students unharmed and drew praise from government leaders as a major success amid escalating tensions with neighbouring Afghanistan.
Defence minister Asif says Pakistan could hit Afghan militant sanctuaries after deadly attacks
ISLAMABAD: Defence minister warned on Tuesday that Pakistan could launch attacks on terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of deadly assaults that killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more, escalating tensions along the volatile border and raising the specter of broader regional conflict.