In Pakistan, a controversial judicial reform will grant the government more influence over the nation's top court by allowing it to appoint judges who align with its agenda, which will threaten the independence of the judiciary, deepen political polarization and likely provoke unrest. On Oct. 21, Pakistan's president signed the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law after Parliament approved it. The bill removes the Supreme Court's ability to initiate cases on its own, establishes a three-year term limit for the chief justice of Pakistan, and authorizes a new special parliamentary committee to appoint the next chief justice from the three senior-most judges on the Supreme Court. Shortly after the bill's ratification, parliamentary leaders nominated lawmakers to sit on the 12-member special committee, with eight from the lower house (the National Assembly) and four from the upper house (the Senate). The committee then selected Justice Yahya Afridi to serve as Pakistan's...
