After months of hiatus, govt appoints Justice Wazir Shakil in G-B apex court

Two of the one judge’s post is still lying vacant

GILGIT: After a long delay, the federal government has filled one of the two vacant posts in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Supreme Appellate Court.

“Justice Wazir Shakil has been appointed as judge of the Supreme Appellate Court, which serves as G-B’s apex court,” according to an official statement issued on Friday.

However, there is no official word on when the second judge would be appointed. Both the positions had been vacant for the past several months as summaries sent by the G-B government to federal authorities remained unanswered.

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The appointment of Justice Shakil comes after a hiatus of eight months following the chief judge Justice Arshad Hussain Shah was sworn in.



Due to lack of judges, review petitions against verdicts of the chief court could not be filed while several pleas remained unheard even after the passage of many months.

“It’s good news that another judge was appointed,” said a litigant.

According to another notification issued by the ministry of Kashmir Affairs and G-B, Justice Malik Haq Nawaz was made chief judge in the lower chief court, replacing Justice Wazir Shakil after his appointment in the appellate court.