LAHORE: Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, stated that the recent constitutional amendment has closed the door to gaining power through sneaky methods.

He made these remarks during a press conference in Lahore after a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Sanaullah praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership, crediting him with steering the country away from an economic crisis through his hard work.

The government, led by Shehbaz Sharif, along with support from allies like the PPP, successfully passed the controversial legislation in both houses of parliament.

This legislation changed the process for appointing the Chief Justice of Pakistan, set the tenure for the position, and established constitutional benches.

The amendment removed the seniority rule for appointing the Chief Justice, allowing the selection to be made among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.

A special parliamentary committee of 12 members will decide on the nomination with a two-thirds majority, which will then be forwarded to the prime minister for final approval by the president.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) strongly opposed the legislation and announced plans to challenge it in the Supreme Court, claiming it undermines the judicial system.

However, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar argued that an amendment passed by parliament with a two-thirds majority cannot be legally challenged.

Tarar cited Article 239 of the Constitution, which states that amendments to the Constitution cannot be questioned in court.

He also referenced clause 6 of the same article, emphasizing that parliament has the authority to amend any provision of the Constitution without limitations.

During the press conference, Sanaullah also addressed the recent release of PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and his sisters, Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, clarifying that their release was not the result of any deal.

He also expressed satisfaction with the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, while criticizing Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s language in a letter and suggesting that he could have simply gone for Umrah instead.