Pakistan's 27th Amendment to Constitution Hinting The End of Civilian Rule?

Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir is just one step away from becoming the most powerful man in his country, officially. Six months after Operation Sindoor, Pakistan tabled the 27th Constitutional Amendment in the Senate, effectively giving lifetime status and constitutional protection to Munir apart from handing him unilateral command of the armed forces.

Officials have cited this promotion only the second (after 1959, when Ayub Khan was made Field Marshal) in Pakistan’s history as justification for formally recognising such lifetime ranks in law.

If enacted, the amendment would also abolish the office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on 27 November, the day the current CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is scheduled to retire. His departure would mark the end of the Joint Services Committee, making him the last officer to hold the position.

This is effectively one of the most far-reaching restructurings of Pakistan’s governance framework in decades, overhauling the judiciary, redefining military ranks, and expanding executive powers.

The draft amendment, circulated among lawmakers this week, seeks to create a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) that would assume many of the powers currently held by the Supreme Court, including the authority to hear constitutional petitions and disputes between governments.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar tabled the 26-page draft to be titled the bill for Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act, 2025, hours after it received the federal cabinet’s approval.

The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was held via video link from Baku, where he was attending Azerbaijan’s Victory Day ceremony alongside Field Marshal Munir.

Like last time, both the senate proceedings are being done over the weekend which is not the usual norm. The meeting was boycotted by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers.

While the Opposition staged a boycott, a joint meeting of the Senate and the National Assembly’s law and justice standing committees on Sunday app­roved the 27th Consti­tutional Amendment Bill with minor changes, The Dawn reported.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the withdrawal of a proposed clause granting immunity to the PM in the 27th Constitutional Amendment, saying the premier must remain “fully accountable before the law and the people.”

Taking to ‘X’, Sharif clarified that the clause was not part of the cabinet-approved draft and directed its immediate removal. “While I acknowledge their intent in good faith, the proposal was not part of the Cabinet-approved draft. I have instructed that it be withdrawn immediately,” he wrote.

The planned amendment comes a year after the controversial 26th Amendment curtailed judicial independence. It had stopped short of creating a second top court–the Federal Constitution Court (FCC)–to handle all cases related to constitutional powers. The move, had it gone through, would have limited the role of Pakistan’s Supreme Court into adjudicating civil and criminal disputes only.

Earlier this week, Shehbaz Sharif spent days courting coalition allies—including delegations from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement–Pakistan (MQM-P), and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)—to secure the two-thirds parliamentary majority required for passage of the Bill.

With 233 seats in the 336-member National Assembly, the ruling coalition has enough votes in the lower house but falls short in the 96-member Senate, where it holds 61 of the 64 seats needed to clear the Bill.

The opposition PTI has vowed to resist the changes “tooth and nail”, with its chairperson Gohar Ali Khan warning that the amendment would “jeopardise the independence of the judiciary” and threaten the federation’s integrity.

The government dismissed allegations that the amendment would undermine provincial powers or judicial independence. “No step will be taken that weakens the federation or the provinces,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif insisted in a press conference last week.

But lawyers and analysts say the changes could tilt the balance of power, formalising what many already describe in the adage: “Every country has an army, whereas the Pakistani Army has a country.”