Makhdoom Ali Khan, the former Attorney General, leaves the Law and Justice Commission

Makhdoom Ali Khan, a former Attorney General and member of the Law and Justice Commission, has resigned from the position.

Makhdoom Ali Khan reportedly submitted his resignation letter to the chairman of the Law and Justice Commission. In his letter of resignation, he said that although he had accepted the commission’s invitation in the hopes of using strategy, reasoning, and consultation to help bring about legal reforms, he believed that the 27th Constitutional Amendment had totally destroyed judicial independence.

After the 26th Amendment, Makhdoom Ali Khan said that he had seen young attorneys become hopeless and that he thought the commission could still bring about reforms. Nonetheless, he stated that “legal reform is impossible without an independent judiciary,” and that continuing to serve on the committee in the current situation would be “tantamount to deceiving oneself.”

He formally resigned from the position after admitting he couldn’t remain in it.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, two senior Supreme Court justices, have also resigned, calling the 27th Constitutional Amendment “an assault on the Constitution.”