Three names for additional PHC judges withdrawn

CJ Gulzar summoned JCP meeting on January 5 to consider the appointments

ISLAMABAD:

Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid has withdrawn the names of three nominees from the list proposed for the posts of additional judges.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has summoned a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on January 5 to consider the appointments of six additional judges of the PHC.

Earlier, the PHC CJ had sent nine names for the appointment of six PHC judges. Among them, six were lawyers namely Yousuf Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Shumail Ahmed Butt, Ijaz Sabi, Fahim Wali, Additional Advocate General Kamran Hayat Miankhel and Naveed Akhtar.

Likewise, three nominees are district and sessions judges.

However, it is learnt that the PHC CJ has withdrawn the names of K-P AG Shumail Butt, Yousuf Khan and Naveed Akhtar before the commission’s meeting. One member of the commission also confirmed this development. He, however, expressed wonder as why the name of K-P AG was excluded and that of additional AG was intact.

Former Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Amjid Shah, who also belongs to the K-P province, expressed surprise over withdrawal of the names of K-P AG Shumail Butt and Yousuf Khan before the JCP meeting.

Shah believes that K-P AG Butt is highly competent and a man of integrity.

He also questioned nominations of three district and session judges for posts of PHC judges. One of them is that son of a retired Supreme Court judge.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that one member of the JCP had decided to raise objections over the withdrawal of K-P AG’s nomination.

He wondered why the additional AG was being preferred over K-P AG.

It is learnt that most of the representatives of K-P are satisfied with the names of three remaining nominees – Additional AG Kamran Hayat Miankhel, Fahim Wali and Ijaz Sabi.

Wali is currently holding the post of PBC chairman while Sabi is doing independent legal practice. Earlier, Sabi worked as the junior of a renowned lawyer, Lateef Afridi.

Also read: JCP confirms employment of 3 PHC judges

Senior lawyers believed that when serious allegations of favouritism and nepotism were being levelled on the appointment of superior courts judges, then the JCP should be extra careful in order to ensure more transparency in judges’ appointment.

They say that the matter related to the appointment of PHC judges was a test for both the JCP and the bar.

The lawyers stated that the superior bars should end the perception that whenever their nominees were named, they preferred to remain silent over the appointment process.

After the merger of former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with K-P, there was a need to increase the number of PHC judges.

It is learnt that the backlog of cases was increasing after Fata’s merger with K-P with the former having a population of five million.

The population of K-P came close to the population of Sindh – the country’s second most populous province after Punjab. The strength of Sindh High Court judges is 40 as compared with 20 of PHC. It is also learnt that the chief justice of Pakistan had asked the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan secretary to take up the matter with the executive, regarding increasing the number of judges in the PHC.

As per law, the judge’s posts could be enhanced through legislation or a presidential order.

A senior lawyer lamented that despite making promises, the incumbent government had failed to bring reforms in the justice system. It seems that the senior civil servants did not take interest in enhancing the number of judges, the lawyers added.