Government says PPP is unhappy with JCP for not considering its candidates for high court judges
ISLAMABAD:
The government is unhappy with President Asif Ali Zardari for denying approval of the summary seeking the appointment of 19 additional judges to four high courts.
The JCP, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved the appointment 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 for the appointment of the judges.
A senior cabinet member, speaking to The express PAkGazetteexpressed surprise at the delay in approval of the summary. “It is a serious mistake on the part of the president,” said the cabinet member.
He clarified that the case 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 also said that the delay in approving the summary could have consequences, claiming that the president’s inaction was causing resentment within the higher judiciary. He added that the government’s legal team was considering various options to address the matter.
The government side claims that the PPP leaders are unhappy with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for not considering their candidates for high court judges.
The JCP judicial members have already expressed a consensus on the functioning of the constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court (SHC), after giving the bench judges three months to deliver results.
Similarly, judicial members opposed the confirmation of Sindh High Court additional judge Syed Fiaz ul Hassan Shah, which is seen as another setback for the PPP.
The PPP leaders were particularly keen on securing the appointment of two of their candidates to the Sindh High Court (SHC). However, neither the judicial members nor the executives of the commission supported their candidacies, since both candidates were under 45 years of age.
Another government official said both the executive and judiciary were of the view that the commission should not approve any candidate under 45 years of age.
Senator Farooq H Naek, senior legal member of the PPP and member of the PCJ, proposed 33 candidates: 16 for the SHC, 10 for the LHC, five for the BHC and two for the IHC.
A member of the commission said the PPP could have secured appointments for other candidates from interior Sindh, who were considered aligned with the party, if it had not insisted on its two preferred candidates.
Last year, the PPP managed to influence judicial appointments in several high courts, particularly the SHC, Peshawar High Court and the LHC.
After the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Justice KK Agha was elevated to the newly created Federal Constitutional Court, while another judge from the SHC was transferred to the IHC.
The president will be able to take a position on the matter within the next 48 hours.
