The ship has sailed, the tide has ebbed, and the port is closed—yet some are still looking for work to do. Pakistan’s judiciary and constitution were restructured after the passing of the 26th Amendment, and the country is already operating under this new framework. This was soon followed by legislation that redefined the relationship among the government branches, marking a fundamentally different era compared to the past.

However, former politicians and lawyers are still rallying to challenge the amendment, calling for its repeal on the grounds that it was passed under coercion and disrupts the balance of power enshrined in the constitution. This pushback is unsurprising; after any law reshapes governmental structures, it is predictable that parties feeling marginalized under the new order will seek to contest it. This resistance is not unique to constitutional amendments. Ordinary legislation can be challenged in court for unconstitutionality, but this time, the effort may be misplaced. The reality is that the amendment was passed with a two-thirds majority—a threshold set by the constitution itself. Previous challenges to legislation focused on aligning laws with the constitution, but a constitutional amendment by its nature redefines the constitution’s own framework, placing it beyond the reach of standard judicial review.

Moreover, the Pakistani judiciary and political climate appears to have moved on. The country has begun adapting to the new order, and there may be little appetite within the judiciary or the political arena to reverse course. The law recognizes the right to petition, but its success is never guaranteed

As is often the case, some petitions are driven more by political theatre than substance, offering a platform for publicity rather than a genuine shot at change, while simultaneously creating ammunition for partisan politicians to use in their next talk show appearance. While predicting outcomes in Pakistan’s political landscape is a fool’s errand, this particular petition seems likely to join the ranks of others that have quietly faded away in the face of the new reality.