PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD  -  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Monday termed the 26th constitutional amendment as an attack on the independence of judiciary saying that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party will revoke the legislation whenever it returned to power in the Centre.

Speaking on the floor of the KP Assembly, the chief minister lashed out at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government, saying: “A government who does not have a legal mandate attacked the judiciary.”

The KP chief minister was of the view that the unconstitutional amendment was aimed at facilitating the elite class. “Independent Judiciary has been subjugated.” The chief minister announced that the “contentious” constitutional amendment would be revoked whenever PTI would come into power. He further said that they would make amendments to the Constitution that would benefit the people.

Strongly criticising the PT-backed dissident lawmakers, CM Gandapur said that they should have resigned instead of casting votes in favour of the “unconstitutional amendment”.

“The nation will make them accountable who changed their loyalties,” threatened the firebrand leader.

Zahoor Qureshi, Aurangzeb Khichi, Usman Ali, and Mubarak Zeb were the PTI-backed independent MNAs who voted in the tweak’s favour. Difficult time exposed the traitors, cowards and conscience sellers, he added. “We and the nation will also seek answer from the traitors.”

Moving on to, incarcerated PTI founder, the CM said that their leader was in jail despite he did not do anything wrong. He was kept in isolation in the Rawalpindi’s Adyala Jail.

Reacting to the judiciary-focused amendment, CM Gandapur warned that they would take to the streets if the most senior judge is not appointed as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

After the 26th amendment, the selection of the chief justice will no longer be based solely on seniority, and instead, the choice will be made among the three most senior judges of the top court.

Court orders newspaper notice for Gandapur in vandalism case

In a case related to vandalism during the Azadi March, the Anti-Terrorism Court on Monday directed the publication of an advertisement against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Hearing the case, Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra issued these orders under the Section 87 of the Criminal Code.

The court summoned Gandapur to appear on November 21 through the public notice. Previously, a non-bailable arrest warrant had been issued against the Chief Minister.

The court’s order to publish the advertisement is aimed at ensuring Gandapur’s appearance in the ongoing case. The legal proceedings will continue if the Chief Minister fails to comply with the summons.