Pakistan approved changes to the constitution on Monday, which included empowering parliament to pick the Supreme Court's chief justice, drawing criticism from opposition parties who said it was an attempt to subvert the judiciary.

It is alarming a Constitutional Amendment of great significance and public interest was passed in such a secretive manner and in less than 24 hours,' says International Commission of Jurists - Anadolu

Pakistan's 26th constitutional amendment, which has been criticised for clipping the powers of the judiciary, was passed in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Pakistan's government on Monday narrowly passed a package of constitutional amendments it said would stop the country's courts from issuing rulings that "interfere in parliament". Tensions between the state and the country's top courts have deepened since ...

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed the amendment, but six independent members who held their seats with the support of the PTI supported the bill.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advised President Asif Ali Zardari to sign the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, drawing criticism from opposition party PTI. Passed with a two-thirds majority in the Senate,

Under the judicial reforms passed during a late-night session of parliament, the chief justice of Pakistan will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years. A new constitutional bench will be also formed.