KARACHI – Pakistan’s Grand Mufti, Maulana Taqi Usmani, has said that in Islam, no individual or official is above judicial accountability, and granting lifetime immunity to the President is against both Sharia and the Constitution.
In a post on social media platform X, Mufti Taqi Usmani stated that “no one, no matter how high their position, can ever be beyond judicial proceedings in Islam.” He added that even during the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, accountability was ensured, and the constitutional protection previously given to the President during his term was already un-Islamic. Extending this protection for life, he said, would be completely contrary to Islamic principles and the spirit of the Constitution, and shameful for the nation.
He prayed for Allah to save the country from such disgrace and urged parliament members not to take this sin upon themselves.
Meanwhile, the Senate has approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment, granting lifetime immunity to the President. The amendment to Article 248, presented by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, ensures that no legal action can be taken against a President even after leaving office. However, if a former President assumes another public office, the immunity will cease to apply.
