Comprehensive scrutiny: LHC CJ sends 16 names for judges’ appointments

There are 46 active judges against high court’s total strength of 60

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Mansoor Ali Shah intimated to the Judicial Council of Pakistan (JCP) on Saturday the names of six district and sessions judges and 10 lawyers for appointments as 14 additional judges of the high court.

The names were finalised after the completion of a comprehensive scrutiny process.

The finalist sessioans judges are: Sohail Nasir, Abdul Sattar and Tariq Iftikhar Ahmad, Habibullah Amir, Mujahid Mustaqim Ahmad and Abdid Hussain Quraishi.

Likewise, names of 10 lawyers are Asjad Javed Goraal, Tariq Saleem Sheikh, Muhammad Bashir Paracha, Ahmad Raza Gilani, Jawwad Hassan, Muhammad Akhtar Bashir, Mudhasir Khalid Abbasi, Abdul Rehman Aurangzeb, Agha Muhammad Ali Khan and Chaudhry Abdul Aziz.

Currently, there are 46 active judges while the high court’s total strength is 60.

According to the sources, the chief justice sent proforma to as many as 250 lawyers in Punjab. Subsequently, 35 lawyers were short-listed and called for interviews.

Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) president Ali Zafar and Pakistan Bar Council’s (PBC) vice-chairman Farogh Nasim both supported the LHC chief justice’s efforts for ensuring transparency in the appointment process.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali summoned the meeting of the JCP on October 17 to consider the names for appointment as LHC judges.

The commission, the sources said, would also consider the confirmation of four additional judges of the LHC on same day.

The tenure of Justice Khalid Mahmood Malik, Mushtaq Ahmad, Masood Abid Naqvi and Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal is ending on November 7.

The JCP is also scheduled to examine the confirmation of four additional judges of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) as well as one nomination for appointment as an additional judge of the Balochsiatn High Court.

Similarly, a special committee of the JCP will hold its first meeting on October 18 to consider amendments proposed by the PBC to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) rules 2010.

The five-member committee will be headed by Justice Mian Saqib, Attorney-General Aushtar Ausaf Ali, PBC representative Muhammad Yasin Azad, Punjab Bar Council’s representative Javed Hashmi and Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2016.