Well-placed sources have reported that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting held on Friday unanimously approved the appointments of four retired judges, including Justice (retd) Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar, as “members” of the apex judicial appointments body.
This development occurred during the JCP meeting presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi.
The JCP meeting also selected Justice (retd) Mian Shakirullah Jan of the Peshawar High Court and Justice (retd) Nazir Ahmed Lango of the Balochistan High Court to serve as its members.
Chaired by CJP Afridi, the meeting lasted for over two hours, during which discussions were held regarding the elevation of two high court judges to the Supreme Court, the sources further added.
The JCP meeting decided to elevate Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Justice Ali Baqar Najafi to the Supreme Court with a 9-4 majority vote. Four members of the JCP, including the CJP and the Senior puisne Judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, voted against his elevation.
During his interaction with journalists following the JCP meeting, Advocate Ahsan Bhawan stated: “For the first time after the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the government and the opposition reached decisions through consensus.”
He further mentioned that the JCP meeting was conducted in a “pleasant atmosphere,” adding that nine members of the body voted in favor of Justice Najafi’s elevation.
An upcoming meeting of the JCP, anticipated to be held on April 18th, will consider nominations for the appointment of chief justices of the Islamabad High Court, Sindh High Court (SHC), Peshawar High Court (PHC), and Balochistan High Court (BHC).
