Islamabad:
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan has approved the appointment of 10 additional judges for the Superior Court of Peshawar (PHC) with a majority vote.
The decision, taken during a commission meeting chaired by the president of the President of the Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Yahya Afridi, includes the appointment of two district judges and sessions, Farah Jamshed and Inamullah Khan, among others.
According to the sources, seven of the approved nominations were presented by the president of the PHC, Ishtiaq Ibrahim, while one was recommended by Federal Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Senator Farooq H Naek and the representative of the Pakistan lawyer (PBC) , Akhtar Hussain.
The agenda of the meeting initially included the appointment of nine additional judges, but PHC CJ, Judge Ishtiaq Ibrahim, argued during the session that 10 judges were required.
The CJP Yahya Afridi supported his point of view, which led to the selection of 10 candidates from the 40 nominations received.
Three members of the Commission opposed the deviation of the original agenda, arguing that on January 18, nominations were sought for nine additional judges, and the appointments should follow the predetermined schedule.
A member warned against establishing a precedent that could interrupt the future appointment processes.
The newly appointed judges include the lawyer Muhammad Tariq Afridi, Abdul Fayyaz, Sabitullah Khan, Salahuddin, Sadiq Ali, Syed Mudasser Ameer, Aurengzeb and Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah.
The official statement of the Commission clarified that candidates who failed to obtain a majority vote can be reconsidered for future judicial appointments. The CJP Aphridi also expressed its gratitude to the Punjab Information Technology Board to help the members of the Commission through its web portal.
The sources revealed that none of the nominations presented by the members of the Commission affiliated with PTI or the Minister of Provincial Law assured a majority vote, which did not result in any appointment of additional judges of their recommendations.
With the approval of these appointments, the number of judges in the Superior Court of Peshawar will increase to 23. The court, which currently has 13 judges, is dealing with more than 40,000 pending cases. New appointments are expected to accelerate cases resolutions.
Meanwhile, the commission will meet again on February 10 to deliberate about the appointment of eight new judges of the Supreme Court.
Kp aag resign
In a related development, Syed Kausar Ali Shah resigned as additional general defender (AAG) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), citing JCP’s bias.
“The main reason for the resignation is the discrimination that I supported from the JCP, due to the lack of captivating a affidavit of renunciation of my membership with Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI),” wrote the former AAG in his resignation presented To KP Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
The sources said Shah, backed by PTI, resigned after being overlooked by the additional judge in the PHC.
“As a result, I no longer want to continue my services under the current government regime,” he added. In his letter, he thanked the founder of PTI Imran Khan for giving him the opportunities that “molded his professional trip.”
