ISLAMABAD:
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has approved a series of key judicial appointments and term extensions in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), amid the continued absence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) representatives in its meetings.
The JCP met on Wednesday at the Supreme Court under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. According to an official statement, the commission reviewed data forms, background information and evaluation materials before making its decisions by majority vote.
The commission approved the confirmation of six additional APS judges as permanent judges. They include Justices Muhammad Tariq Afridi, Abdul Fayaz, Salahuddin, Sadiq Ali, Syed Mudassar Ameer and Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah.
The PCJ also granted a six-month extension in the tenure of four additional APS judges – Justices Farah Jamshed, Inamullah Khan, Sabitullah Khan and Aurangzeb, according to the post-meeting announcement.
Earlier on Tuesday, the commission confirmed the appointment of 10 additional judges of the Sindh High Court (SHC) as permanent judges. Among those approved are Justices Miran Muhammad Shah, Tasneem Sultana, Riazat Ali Sahar, Muhammad Hasan (Akber), Abdul Hamid Bhung, Jan Ali Junejo, Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro, Ali Haider ‘Ada’, Muhammad Osman Ali Hadi and Muhammad Jaffer Raza.
Two other SHC judges, Khalid Hussain Shahani and Syed Fiaz-ul-Hassan Shah, were granted six-month extensions. The PCJ 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 PCJ 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 permanent judge of the Balochistan High Court (BHC). However, he did not confirm Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan, who is no longer serving as a BHC judge.
So far, four meetings of the Judicial Commission have resulted in the confirmation of judges of the four high courts. However, throughout these proceedings, the PTI committee members (Advocate Gohar Ali Khan and Advocate Ali Zafar) did not attend any of the meetings.
The PTI Judicial Commission member and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial law minister were also absent from Wednesday’s APS-related session, a pattern that has raised eyebrows within legal circles.
