Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar have issued an open letter in response to the public release of minutes from internal Supreme Court meetings held following the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
In the four-page letter, the two senior judges expressed concern over what they termed a selective and unilateral release of meeting records, stating that their decision as committee members to constitute a full court on the matter of the amendment, taken on October 31, had not been acted upon. “If history is now to render judgment, the record must remain complete,” the letter stated.
The judges said that the chief justice’s written notes, referenced in relation to their earlier correspondence, had never been shared with them. They rejected the claim that the matter of forming a full court had been referred to a constitutional bench or committee, pointing out that no such forum existed at the time.
According to the letter, the current Practice and Procedure Committee, on November 26, 2024, resolved not to release the meeting minutes—despite Justice Mansoor’s dissent—yet the minutes were later made public contrary to this decision. The judges stated that this compelled them to issue their response.
They said the decision not to convene a full court, claiming this prevented the judiciary from presenting an institutional response to the constitutional amendment. “Even now,” the judges wrote, “a full court remains the only solution.”
They have requested that the registrar publish their letter alongside the minutes on the apex court’s website to ensure the public record remains comprehensive.
