Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa proposed on Monday nine judges from the Lahore and Sindh high courts to fill in three vacant seats of the Supreme Court (SC). The six senior judges nominated from the Lahore High Court (LHC) for two SC positions were Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan, Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, Justice Shahid Bilal, and Justice Abdul Abid Aziz Sheikh. Justice Aqeel Abbasi, Justice Shafi Siddiqui, and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto were nominated from the Sindh High Court (SHC) for one apex court seat.
A meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is scheduled for June 7 to consider the nine nominees. The JCP serves as the highest authority for recommending judicial appointments to the SC, high courts, and Shariat court. It consists of the CJP as its chairman. The matter comes amidst a proposal pending approval for change in the rules of judges’ appointment to the apex court. This proposal has been prepared by JCP member from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Akhtar Hussain, and former JCP member Advocate Amjad Farooq Khattak.
