ISLAMABAD:
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has approved a number of key judicial appointments and tenure extensions in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), amid the continued absence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) representatives from its meetings.
The JCP met in the Supreme Court on Wednesday presided over by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. According to an official statement, the commission reviewed data forms, antecedents and evaluation materials before reaching its decisions by majority vote.
The commission approved the confirmation of six additional PHC judges as permanent judges. These include Justices Muhammad Tariq Afridi, Abdul Fayaz, Salahuddin, Sadiq Ali, Syed Mudassar Ameer and Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah.
The JCP also granted six-month extension in the tenure of four more PHC judges – Justices Farah Jamshed, Inamullah Khan, Sabitullah Khan and Aurangzeb, according to the announcement after the meeting.
Earlier on Tuesday, the commission confirmed the appointment of 10 additional judges of the Sindh High Court (SHC) as permanent judges. Those approved include Justices Miran Muhammad Shah, Tasneem Sultana, Riazat Ali Sahar, Muhammad Hasan (Akber), Abdul Hamid Bhurgi, Jan Ali Junejo, Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro, Ali Haider ‘Ada’, Muhammad Osman Ali Hadi and Muhammad Jaffer Raza.
Two more SHC judges – Khalid Hussain Shahani and Syed Fiaz-ul-Hassan Shah – were given six-month extension. The JCP also nominated Justices Amjad Ali Bohio, Muhammad Hasan (Akber), Ali Haider ‘Ada’ and Muhammad Osman Ali Hadi to the SHC constitutional bench.
In another set of decisions, the JCP earlier confirmed three additional judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) – Justices Inaam Ameen Minhas, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Azam Khan – as permanent judges.
In a separate meeting, the commission confirmed Justice Najam-ud-Din Mengal as a permanent judge of the Balochistan High Court (BHC). However, Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan, who is no longer serving as a BHC judge, did not confirm it.
So far, four meetings of the Judicial Commission have resulted in the confirmation of judges across all four high courts. But throughout this procedure, PTI members of the commission – lawyer Gohar Ali Khan and lawyer Ali Zafar – did not attend any of the meetings.
PTI’s judicial commission member and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial law minister was also absent from the PHC-related session on Wednesday, a pattern that has drawn attention in legal circles.
