Islamabad, May 15 (IANS) The 26th and 27th Amendments have taken away judicial independence in Pakistan which had been guaranteed by the Constitution. Judicial independence in Pakistan is not secure and now lies in the hands of parliament and executive. Expressing concerns, the local media warned that action can be taken against judges at any stage if they do not act according to the orders issued by the executive. “It is through this change that judges are now being subjected to extreme pressur…
Latest Federal Constitutional Court News & Updates
London, May 3 (IANS) Pakistan’s legal system continues to treat child marriage as a procedural irregularity and not a substantive violation of rights, with the Federal Constitutional Court’s judgement in the Maria Shahbaz case on March 30 once again highlighting how this phenomenon is being treated in it, according to a report. In the verdict, the court upheld the marriage of a minor Christian girl to a Muslim man, grounding its reasoning in Islamic jurisprudence that allows marriage between a M…
Islamabad, May 1 (IANS) The 26th and 27th Amendments have “ended” the concept of constitutional supremacy in Pakistan with the creation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) being seen by many as the formation of a parallel judicial body to end the constitutional jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, local media reckons. After the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the legal community in Pakistan have discussed how these changes have im…
Islamabad, April 27 (IANS) A local court in Pakistan has refused to approve the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency’s (NCCIA) request for the physical remand of journalist Fakharur Rehman and sent him to jail on judicial remand, local media reported on Monday. Rahman was arrested under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) on April 24. Rahman is one of the nine accused of disseminating “false and misleading information against state institutions” on social media platform X, …
Islamabad, April 5 (IANS) All Pakistan Minorities Alliance chairman and former federal minister for national harmony and minorities affairs, Paul Jacob Bhatti, has urged the government to establish an independent parliamentary commission to analyse cases of forced religious conversion and marriage of minor girls, local media reported. In a statement, Bhatti termed the issue a “matter of serious and legitimate concern” and warned that repeated cases of forced concern and child marriage were under…
Washington, April 4 (IANS) Pakistan has witnessed a consistent exodus of minority populations – including the Christians, Hindus, and other communities – reflecting a broader pattern of fear and insecurity. Since 1947, religious minorities have faced persistent atrocities across the country — including social prejudice, institutional discrimination and targetted violence, a report has revealed.“In Pakistan today, many minority girls live in fear that, despite being born here, they are not fu…
Islamabad, April 2 (IANS) Christians, rights advocates and civil society members in Pakistan held protests against a federal court judgement upholding the forced conversion of a Christian girl by a Muslim man, local media reported. A protest was held after a Federal Constitutional Court in its verdict allowed a 30-year-old Muslim man to keep the custody of a 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz. On March 29, a large number of Christians gathered outside the Karachi Press Club carrying placards and shouting…
Islamabad, Feb 26 (IANS) Several international press freedom and human rights organisations have written to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, raising serious concerns over the continued deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan.In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists, alongside 17 other organisations, highlighted that the recent legal and institutional developments, coupled with persistent failures to ensure accountability for attacks on journalists, have created a worsen…
New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) Even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised Pakistan for stabilising its economy under the ongoing support programme, fresh data shows that poverty and income inequality have sharply worsened, raising serious concerns about the social cost of recent reforms. While key macroeconomic indicators such as fiscal balance and the current account have improved, millions of citizens are facing rising hardship — highlighting a growing gap between economic stabilisat…
Quetta, Jan 27 (IANS) Christian rights advocates and civil society groups have severely condemned the incident of a 13-year-old Christian girl being allegedly abused in Pakistan, urging the country’s authorities to protect vulnerable children from similar acts of violence and humiliation in the future. Local sources said the minor, identified as Zarnaab, was working as a domestic worker in an influential family of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Reportedly, she was tortured with household utensils, …