ISLAMABAD - A group of prominent lawyers including Abid Zuberi, Shafqat Mehmood and Munir Kakar on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging a set of proposed constitutional amendments. The petition has named the federal government, the four provincial governments, the National Assembly, the Senate and other relevant parties as respondents. The petitioners argued that the proposed constitutional amendments undermine the separation of powers and threaten the independence of the judiciary. They have requested that the Supreme Court declare the proposed draft unconstitutional and prevent the government from moving forward with the amendments. The petition also called for a halt to the process of presenting the bill for the constitutional amendment in the Parliament. In case the Parliament proceeds with the amendment, the petitioners request that the president of Pakistan be barred from signing it into law. The petition stressed the need to protect the judiciary’s independence, powers and jurisdiction, asserting that the parliament does not have the authority to withdraw judicial powers or interfere with the judiciary’s functions. The government’s efforts to introduce the 26th Constitutional Amendment faced a setback in just the initial phase, as the federal cabinet meeting, where the amendments were to be approved, was postponed.