Islamabad: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Monday approved the appointment of six new judges to the Supreme Court, despite a boycott by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and two senior SC judges.
Judicial Commission Meeting and New Appointments
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, where nominations for Supreme Court judges were considered and approved by a majority vote.
The newly appointed judges are:
- Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar
- Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui
- Justice Salahuddin Panhwar
- Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim
- Justice Shakeel Ahmad
- Justice Aamer Farooq
Additionally, IHC’s Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb was nominated as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court.
PTI’s Boycott and Objections from Senior Judges
The meeting was boycotted by PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Senator Ali Zafar, along with Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.
PTI’s chairman argued that the meeting should have been postponed until the cases regarding the 26th Constitutional Amendment were decided.
Speaking to journalists, Barrister Gohar stated that PTI had filed petitions against the 26th Amendment, which were still pending. Since the meeting was not delayed, PTI opted to boycott the session.
Seniority Dispute Among Judges
Earlier this month, the Judicial Commission sought nominations from all high courts, requesting a list of five senior judges.
Initially, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) sent three names, but after the transfer of LHC’s Justice Sarfraz Dogar and two other judges, the seniority list was revised.
In response, five IHC judges raised concerns over seniority and submitted objections to both the IHC Chief Justice and CJP Afridi.
These judges argued that any transferred judge must take a fresh oath under Article 194 of the Constitution, which would place them at the bottom of the IHC seniority list, making them ineligible for immediate consideration as IHC Chief Justice.
