5.2. Major judicial and constitutional reforms

The 26^th constitutional amendment, passed in October 2024, and the 27^th amendment of November 2025, have significantly changed the judiciary’s structure and way of functioning.1089 The 26^th amendment to the Constitution removed the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear cases through action taken of its own accord (suo motu),1090 restricted the term of the Supreme Court’s chief justice to three years,1091 and granted the government a role in appointing the chief justice.1092

The 27^th amendment to the Constitution, signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari on 13 November 2025 after it had been adopted in both houses of the federal legislature,1093 provides for the creation of a new Federal Constitutional Court. The new court has taken over many previous functions of the Supreme Court,1094 including jurisdiction to adjudicate on constitutional matters,1095 and has been granted powers to override Supreme Court decisions.1096 The Supreme Court’s role has in turn been reduced to handling non-constitutional civil and criminal cases.1097 The new amendment also strengthened the government’s influence over the appointment of judges.1098 Besides the chief justice and other judges of the Federal Constitutional Court, those of the Supreme Court are now also appointed by the country’s President1099 and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan which not only includes judges of the highest courts, but also MPs and senior executive officials.1100

The 27^th amendment also grants, save exceptions, lifelong immunity to the country’s President.1101 Moreover it rewrote Article 243 of the Constitution to create the new supreme military position of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a post designed to be held automatically by the sitting chief of the Pakistani Army.1102 For more detailed information on implications of the 27^th amendment on the armed forces, see section 3.1.1. Pakistan Army.

In November 2025, a federal representative stated that consultations were ongoing within the cabinet regarding a 28th Constitutional Amendment Bill. It was said that the bill would focus on local bodies, health, and the National Finance Commission (NFC),1103 addressing longstanding tensions between the federal and provincial governments over fiscal powers.1104