ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday approved the appointment of high court judges after a long delay.
The development comes a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) expressed displeasure of the delay and sought reports from the federal government and the Ministry of Law by Tuesday on the status of approval of the long-pending summary for the judges’ appointment.
The president approved the appointment of additional judges to the Lahore High Court (LHC), Sindh High Court (SHC), Peshawar High Court (PHC), Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Balochistan High Court (BHC).
The president also approved the confirmation of certain additional judges of SHC and LHC as permanent judges.
In another decision, President Zardari approved measures to bring the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges in line with those of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court.
He also approved amendments to the 1997 order concerning leave, pensions and other benefits for high court judges.
Last month, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahra Afridi, recommended the confirmation of an additional judge of LHC, the appointment of 10 additional judges to LHC and three additional judges to BHC, besides considering proposed amendments to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules, 2024.
For the Lahore High Court, the Commission, by a majority of its total membership, recommended the confirmation of Additional Judge Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa as a judge of the court.
The Commission also recommended, by a majority of its total membership, the appointment of 10 additional judges to the Lahore High Court. The nominees are Amir Ajam Malik, Asad Ali Bajwa, Barrister Muhammad Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema, Ghulam Sarwar Nihang, Khalid Ibn-i-Aziz, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Zahid, Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz, Munawar Iqbal Duggal, Shiren Imran and Syed Farhad Ali, all senior advocates of the Supreme Court.
Regarding the High Court of Balochistan, the Commission recommended the appointment of three additional judges against five vacant positions. The nominees are District and Sessions Judge Allah Dad Roshan, senior advocate of the Supreme Court Muhammad Rauf Atta and District and Sessions Judge Abdul Qayyum Lehri. The remaining two vacancies were left unfilled.
