President approves resignations of justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Athar Minallah

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday approved the resignations of Supreme Court justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah.

Both the judges had forwarded their resignations to President Zardari following the enactment of the 27th Constitutional Amendment a day ago.

The jurists had criticised the 27th Amendment, describing it as a “grave assault on the Constitution of Pakistan”. However, the federal government called the judges’ resignations “political speeches” and the latter’s allegations “unconstitutional”.

Reacting to the content of the judges’ resignations, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah termed the jurists respectable but accused them of advancing a “political” and “self-serving” agenda, urging them to explain their claim that the Supreme Court had been fractured.

Separately, Minister of State for Law Barrister Aqeel Malik labelled the letters “unconstitutional”, insisting Parliament’s legislative authority cannot be challenged. He criticised the political use of courts, saying decisions must follow law rather than personal interests. Staff Report