Islamabad:

Senator Ali Zafar, a member of the Legal Commission in Pakistan (JCP), has requested the Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to postpone the appointment of new judges to the Point Court until the issue of seniority in the Islamabad High Court judges was decided.

Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) Senator wrote a letter to Chief Justice and requested Chief Justice to postpone the JCP meeting scheduled for Monday (today) to consider filling out eight vacant seats from the judges at the Supreme Court.

“This is to request the postponement of the JCP meeting, which is planned to be held on February 10, 2025, until the issue of seniority of the Judges of Islamabad High Court is decided in accordance with the law,” Zafar wrote to Chief Justice.

He said he was included in the list “Controvers around the seniority” over the IHC judges who broke out after the transfer of judges to IHC under Article 200 of the Constitution and a new list of seniority of the judges were issued.

He referred to the transfer of three judges – one from Lahore, Sindh and Balochistan High Courts – to IHC on February 1st. After the transfer, IHC issued a new list of seniority that placed one of the transferred judge as senior-most judge.

Senator Ali Zafar said that objections had been raised to the new seniority list of five sitting IHC judges and four sitting Supreme Court judges, and therefore undermined the creation of a new seniority list “seriously” the perception of the court’s independence.

He also mentioned the objections raised by the Supreme Court and IHC judges who, in their separate letters to Chief Justice, said that the transferred judges could be considered fresh appointments and administered fresh oaths in the office under Article 194.

Senator Ali Zafar also pointed out that four Supreme Court’s judges had “also raised fears of ‘court pack’ in the Supreme Court ‘and added:’ This view would cause long -term damage to the administration of justice.”

By emphasizing that “Comity among judges is of the utmost importance,” Zafar declared that the judiciary derived its effectiveness “from the perception of impartiality and independence as it promotes, which is necessary for citizens to be able to willingly to willingly accepting his orders and judgments ”.

The PTI senator said that perception in the public and many in the legal society that this development may have been linked to high -profile appeals filed by PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, who were pending before IHC.

“The meeting with JCP for the appointment of judges to the top held on February 10, 2025, has a direct Nexus with the current question,” the letter reads. “To avert such perceptions and maintain public trust, it is important for JCP to trade in increased care and caution,” added it.

JCP – Responsible for judicial appointments – was reconstituted to include four MPs after the 26th constitutional amendment. The meeting Monday (today) was invited to consider filling out eight vacant seats of judges at the Supreme Court.

Just a few days ago, Supreme Court’s Senior Puisne -Judge Mansoor Ali Shah and Justices Munib Akhtar, at Har Memallah and Ayesha Malik on the 26th change.

The letter requested that Monday’s meeting be postponed until the challenge of the 26th constitutional amendment was decided, or at least until the constitutional bench decided on a full hearing and until IHC’s seniority was finally determined.

The judges said that the “existing and continued situation and certain recent developments” had forced them to make the request. They pointed out that the challenges of the 26th amendment were lingering and falling before the constitutional bench.