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Pakistan approved new constitutional amendments to allow lawmakers to appoint the Supreme Court’s top justice on Monday, in a bid by the government to rein in the judiciary but also sparking controversy about the move’s erosion of democratic principles, Al Jazeera reported.

President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, giving a parliamentary committee the power to appoint the nation’s top judge who will now serve a fixed term of three years.

Previously, the senior-most judge would become the chief justice without the government or parliament’s interference, Bloomberg wrote.

The move is said to be the result of tensions between the government and the top court following the elections in February, which were plagued by allegations of irregularities. The Supreme Court’s rulings have often backed the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which won the most votes in that election.

The amendment is seen as a way for parliament to sideline the court after favoring Khan, who is still widely popular in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the amendment was passed just days before the current Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa is due to retire. Isa would have been replaced by the next most senior judge, Mansoor Ali Shah, who has frequently issued verdicts deemed favorable to Khan and his party, wrote Al Jazeera.

The ruling coalition government passed the bill in both chambers of parliament on Sunday night, after facing challenges and backlash to the amendment. The move has faced criticism from opposition parties and legal analysts who argued the bill is an attempt to undermine the power of the judiciary, that it will exacerbate tensions between the different branches of the government, and is undemocratic, the Arab News reported.

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