The government says the PPP is unhappy with the JCP for not considering its nominees for Supreme Court judges
ISLAMABAD:
The government is unhappy with President Asif Ali Zardari for withholding approval of the summary of appointment of 19 additional judges to four high courts.
The JCP, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved the nominations of 19 additional judges to the High Courts of Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad during its meetings on July 20 and 21.
Despite the passage of nine days, the President has not approved the summary of the appointment of the judges.
A senior cabinet member, speaking to Express Pakinomistexpressed surprise at the delay in approving the summary. “It is serious misconduct on the part of the president,” the cabinet member said.
He clarified that the summary was initiated by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), not the Prime Minister, and therefore the President could not return it to the Prime Minister for reconsideration.
He further said that the delay in approving the summary could have consequences, arguing that the president’s inaction caused anger in the superior judiciary. He added that the government’s legal team was considering several options to handle the case.
The government side claims that the PPP leadership is unhappy with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for not considering its nominees for Supreme Court judges.
JCP justices have already expressed agreement on the functioning of the constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court (SHC) after giving the judges on the benches three months to deliver results.
Similarly, members of the judiciary opposed the confirmation of Additional Judge Syed Fiaz ul Hassan Shah in the Sindh High Court, which is being seen as another setback for the PPP.
The PPP leadership was particularly interested in securing the appointment of two of its nominees to the Sindh High Court (SHC). However, neither the judicial nor the executive members of the commission supported their candidacies as both nominees were under 45 years of age.
Another official said both the executive and the judiciary were of the view that the commission should not approve any candidate below 45 years of age.
PPP senior legal member and JCP member Senator Farooq H Naek proposed 33 candidates – 16 for SHC, 10 for LHC, five for BHC and two for IHC.
A commission member said the PPP could have secured appointments for other candidates from inner Sindh who were seen to be aligned with the party if it had not insisted on its two preferred nominees.
Last year, the PPP had managed to influence judicial appointments in several high courts, notably the SHC, Peshawar High Court and LHC.
After the 27th constitutional amendment, Justice KK Agha was elevated to the newly created Federal Constitutional Court, while another SHC judge was transferred to the IHC.
The president can decide on the matter within the next 48 hours.
