ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), which met here on Tuesday with Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi in the chair, made recommendations for key appointments in the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, Acting Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC), was unanimously recommended for the appointment as Chief Justice of the SHC.
Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Mulakhail, Acting Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), was unanimously recommended for the appointment as the Chief Justice of the BHC.
Three names, including Justice Rajput, Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, and Justice Mahmood A Khan, were considered for the appointment of the Chief Justice of the SHC.
For the appointment of the Chief Justice of the BHC, the names of three senior-most judges of the high court were considered, which included Justice Mulakhail, Justice Iqbal Ahmed Kasi, and Justice Shaukat Ali Rakhshani.
The Commission also recommended the elevation of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, a judge of the Islamabad High Court/ Acting Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan by a majority of the total membership of the JCP.
The JCP had appointed Justice Aurangzeb as an acting judge of the Supreme Court in February after elevating him from the IHC.
After the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), four judges of the Supreme Court— Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamer Farooq, and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi — were appointed as the judges of the FCC, while Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah resigned; therefore, now the total strength of the SC has been reduced to 18 judges from 24.
The JCP, by a majority of its total membership, constituted a committee comprising Justice Aamer Farooq, a Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, Attorney-General for Pakistan, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, Senator Syed Ali Zafar, and Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, ASC, for making draft rules under clause (20) of Article 175A of the Constitution.
The JCP meeting was also attended by FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamer Farooq, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Pakistan Bar Council representative Ahsan Bhoon, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, Senator Syed Ali Zafar, and MNAs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad and Gohar Ali Khan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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