Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry speaking to reporters outside Parliament House in Islamabad on October 9, 2025. SCREENGRAB
FAISALABAD:
Brushing off judicial backlash, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Sunday that the ruling coalition was prepared to introduce yet another constitutional amendment if required to “maintain stability” in the country, asserting that parliament alone held the mandate to reshape the Constitution.
Speaking to reporters in Faisalabad, the PML-N leader said that the 26th and 27th Amendments had brought “stability” and that further changes could follow if necessary.
“If another amendment is needed to maintain this stability, we will definitely bring it together with other parties,” he asserted. “The parliament will bring amendments whenever it wants, and the parliament should do them. The parliament should be seen as a parliament.”
Responding to a question, Chaudhry dismissed the recent resignations of senior judges in the wake of the amendments as “political”, saying the departures were not driven by principle but by partisanship.
He asserted that amending the Constitution was the exclusive right of the legislature.
“Judges take oath under the Constitution; they are not a political party that they will resign if the Constitution is amended,” he said. “The Constitution will not be as per their (judges’) wishes, but of the parliament and the people of Pakistan.”
He went on to say that “their (judges’) every single thing — from their salaries to their decisions — is decided by the parliament”, arguing that those who stepped down had been “biased” and had issued “political” judgments.
Chaudhry also took a jibe at the judiciary’s past conduct, referencing former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial’s remark to Imran Khan during court proceedings last year. “There have been many extensions of ‘good to see you’, but the environment is not the same anymore,” he quipped.
The state minister criticised “the excessive use of suo motu powers” by the judiciary, saying judges had used them “to send prime ministers home” and to target governments at will.
Commenting on the PTI’s decision to boycott the upcoming by-elections in Faisalabad, he said the party avoided contests “wherever there was considerable opposition”.
The state minister’s statement comes three days after the 27th Amendment was signed into law following approval from both houses of parliament, despite strong resistance from opposition parties.
On November 13, the day the amendment was enacted, Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah tendered their resignations, denouncing the legislation as an “assault” on the Constitution and a measure that weakened the judiciary.
A day later, Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza stepped down from the Lahore High Court, also citing the amendment, and more resignations may follow at the Islamabad High Court.
