The government has abolished the Supreme Court Secretariat, disregarding the July Charter commitment, and reassigned 15 officers from the Secretariat back to the Ministry of Law. The decision was formalized through separate gazettes issued by the Law and Justice Division under presidential order on Tuesday. The officers’ return was backdated to April 10, one day after the Parliament repealed the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance.

According to the ministry’s order, the 15 judicial service members will remain attached to the Law and Justice Division until further posting. The Secretariat had been formed under an interim government ordinance in 2025 following a High Court directive to establish an independent administrative body for the judiciary. However, the new government later repealed the ordinance through the Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill passed on April 9.

The move reverses earlier efforts to ensure administrative and financial independence of the judiciary, as recommended by the Judicial Reform Commission and supported by former Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed. The long-standing constitutional directive for separation of the judiciary from the executive remains a central issue in this development.