Justice Mushir Alam named as CJ SHC: Justice Osmani nominated SC judge

The Judicial Commission, the highest forum in the country to make appointments to superior judiciary and which has been functional after the passage of 18th and 19th Amendments, in its meeting on Saturday recommended elevation of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani to the Supreme Court and Justice Mushir Alam as Chief Justice of Sindh High Court.
The nine-member Judicial Commission meeting was chaired by its Chairman/ Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Two other senior judges of the apex Court have been made members of the Judicial Commission after the passage of 19th Amendment under the light of Supreme Court's recommendations in its interim order over a set of identical pleas against the new procedure.
Justice Mushir Alam, who is recommended as the new SHC CJ, has been serving as senior Pusine Judge of SHC after Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani. With a prolific legal background, he was elected as Member Sindh Bar Council and appointed as Standing Counsel for Government of Pakistan in 1998. He was elevated to the Bench on April 20, 1999.
The Commission in its meeting also recommended one-year extension to 24 Additional Judges of the Lahore High Court while 10 others could not get extension. Names of Justice Mansoor Akbar Kokab, justice Hafiz Abdu Rehman Ansari, Justice Tariq Javed, justice Naseem Akhtar Khan, justice Mohammad Anwar Bhur, justice Mian Shahid Iqbal, justice Shaukat Omar Pirzada, justice Syed Akhlaq Ahmed, justice Waqar Hassan Mir, justice Hassan Raza Pasha were said to be dropped.
The Commission also deferred extension issue of nine additional judges of Sindh High Court till oath taking of new CJ. The recommendations will now be forwarded to a parliamentary committee headed by Mian Raza Rabbani for approval of these decisions. Other members of the Commission were Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Justice Nasir ul Mulk, senior judges of the apex Court, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, Law Minister Dr Babar Awan, Pakistan Bar Council member Dr Khalid Ranjha and Justice (Retd) Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry.
Chief Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Chief Justice Sindh High Court Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa also attended the meeting. Minister for Law and Justice Dr Babar Awan talking to media-men after the meeting said that all decisions were taken unanimously which allayed all concerns expressed by certain quarters.
He said all such concerns have been proved wrong with today's meeting of the JC. The appointment of judges of superior judiciary was being done in a transparent manner. He expressed his optimism by saying that such decisions would promote harmony among the state institutions.
"The democratic norms are being matured and the government is taking steps to introduce ideal mechanism for the functioning of all such institutes," he added. All the wrongs done during dictatorship era were being rectified and the restructuring process of more that a dozen entities like Pepco and Railways was in progress, he added. Dr Babar said that PML-N reforms agenda was being given due heed and with all political forces on board, the government would take decisions in larger national interests. In the upcoming Parliament session, certain issues like price hike would be discussed for evolving at joint strategy, he added. About Karachi, he said steps were being taken out to bring the situation under control.