Govt's fluid principles for key picks

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has shifted its stance from promoting seniority-based appointments, as seen during the appointments of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), to opposing the same principle when it came to selecting the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).

On November 24, 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was quoted by multiple news outlets stating that the COAS and CJCSC appointments were made following the principle of seniority, bringing strength and stability to both the institution and the country. At the time, General Asim Munir (current COAS) and General Sahir Shamshad Mirza (current CJCSC), the top two on the seniority list, were given these key positions.

However, following the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the PML-N and the prime minister took a different approach. The amendment allowed for the bypassing of seniority in appointing the new Chief Justice of Pakistan under the "seniority-cum-merit" principle.

Yet, the criteria for what the government considers "merit" remains open to interpretation, casting doubt on its consistency with past practices and raising questions about political motives.

Experts say there was nothing in black and white to outline the methodology applied by the special parliamentary committee in determining who it deemed fit for the coveted position. The 26th Constitutional Amendment was enacted on Tuesday and in its pursuance, a special parliamentary committee was formed the next day on Wednesday when the decision to announce the next CJ was made.

Observers say this leaves little to the imagination on the selection criteria employed during the in-camera meeting. They add it would require a superhuman effort to analyse the senior-most judges' performance, that too without any spadework, in such a short period of time.

The committee picked Justice Afridi who was third in line to become the new CJ. This entire process of appointment reportedly has been completed.

Interestingly, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar had blatantly denied any government intent to go against the principle of seniority back in August, stating that appointment of new CJ would be on solely on this basis.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif defended the position of the new CJP being appointed by MPs, citing the appointment process of the army chief. He stated that if civilians can appoint the COAS, why can't the CJ be choseln by MPs. Several leaders of the party were approached for comments, but to no avail.