Islamabad:

With the 26th constitutional amendment in the game, the exercise has seized the reins of judicial appointments and fuel for concern for “legal gasket” in the overall judiciary.

The Legal Commission for Pakistan (JCP) has been reconstituted under the controversial constitutional fine -tuning, which is changing the balance of power in favor of the government, which now calls the shots in judicial elections.

Decisions are now being made by the majority, which gives the exercise a free hand in the design of the judiciary.

This is a sharp departure from previous practice, as in the past, under the 18th amendment, the majority within JCP consisted of judges, which ensured greater legal independence.

However, the current adaptation of PML-N, PPP and Pakistan Bar Council’s independent group has led to a unified front in the Commission, which ensures smooth sailing for the government’s judicial elections with blessing ‘powerful circles’.

So far, JCP has approved the appointment of 12 judges for Sindh High Court (SHC), three to Balochistan High Court and two to Islamabad High Court (IHC). The judges are also elected for constitutional benches in the Supreme Court and SHC.

Legal experts believe that the government has successfully installed a majority of its favorite judges in SHC and IHC. However, court members within JCP remain divided.

In particular, Justice supported Aminuddin Khan, a JCP member, not Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi’s proposal to nominate all Apex Court judges for the constitutional bench. Instead of supporting from executive and bar representatives, he became the first leader of the constitutional bench.

The next JCP meeting scheduled for February 1st will consider nominations for Peshawar High Court referees, followed by a session on February 7 to review Lahore High Court nominations.

On February 11, the Commission also appoints eight Supreme Court judges-a process, which is expected to favor performingly supported nominees.

Meanwhile, one or two judges from provincial high courts can soon be transferred to IHC to facilitate the appointment of a new IHC higher after the expected increase of the current IHC CJ Aamer Farooq to the top court.

The performer is expected to ensure that a like -minded nominee takes the position.

The government remains uneasy about six IHC judges who previously wrote to the Supreme Court Council (SJC) and seek guidance on alleged agency interference in legal functions on high-profile cases. None of these judges are expected to be considered for the next IHC higher.

Before the 26th change, Chief Justice played a dominant role in the legal appointment process, a system created during the 18th constitutional amendment.