Pakistan has rejected the statement by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, terming the apprehensions over the 27th Constitutional Amendment as baseless.
“Pakistan notes with deep concern the ungrounded and misplaced apprehensions aired on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the 27th constitutional amendment adopted by the two-thirds majority of the parliament”, reads a statement shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on micro-blogging platform X (former Twitter) on Sunday.
Like all parliamentary democracies, all legislation, as well as any amendment to the Constitution, remains the exclusive domain of the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan. Democracy and democratic methods form the bedrock of civil and political rights and must therefore be respected.
The statement reads that the constitutional amendments adopted by the Parliament of Pakistan followed due procedures as enshrined in Pakistan’s Constitution.
“Pakistan remains fully committed to protecting, promoting and upholding human rights, human dignity, basic freedoms and the rule of law as enshrined in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”, the statement reads.
“While Pakistan gives due importance to the work of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, it is regrettable that Pakistan’s views and ground realities were not reflected in the statement issued”, the statement further reads.
Foreign Office urged the High Commissioner to respect the sovereign decisions of Pakistan’s parliament and avoid commentary that reflects political bias and misinformation.
Last Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated that the amendments seriously undermine judicial independence.
“New Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has been given powers over constitutional cases, replacing the previous authority of the Supreme Court, which will now only deal with civil and criminal cases,” the statement reads.
The High Commissioner believed that these changes put the judiciary at risk of political interference and executive control.
“The judiciary should be protected from any form of political influence in its decision-making”, the UN official stated.
