Islamabad (Saturday, June 21, 2025): A letter written by senior Supreme Court judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah regarding the expansion of the constitutional bench has come to light.

According to sources, Justice Mansoor wrote this letter prior to the June 19 meeting, in which he opposed the move to expand the constitutional bench. The letter was reportedly sent to all members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

In the contents of the letter, Justice Mansoor stated that no changes should be made to the constitutional bench until a decision is made on the 26th Constitutional Amendment case. He emphasized that he had already informed authorities of his unavailability for the June 19 meeting, expressing the hope that the meeting would be postponed in light of his absence. He further noted that similar meetings had been postponed in the past due to the absence of executive members. However, he acknowledged that in this case, since judicial members are in the minority, postponing the meeting might not have been possible.

Justice Mansoor warned in his letter that any expansion of the bench before the verdict on the 26th Amendment would only intensify the institutional crisis, stating that the ongoing conflict is damaging the credibility and public trust in the judiciary.

He proposed that until a final verdict on the 26th Amendment is issued, all judges should be declared part of the constitutional bench, and a clear standard or criteria should be established for the inclusion of judges in such important benches.