CJs submit namesfor additional judges to JCP

LHC chief proposes five serving law officers; interviews to be held under amended rules

ISLAMABAD:

The chief justices of three high courts have submitted their nominations to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the appointment of additional judges, as the process to fill vacant positions in the superior judiciary moves forward.

The JCP had invited nominations for 10 additional judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC), five of the Sindh High Court (SHC), five of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and three of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, in consultation with the chief justices of the high courts, had sought nominations from all JCP members by July 4. It is learnt that the chief justices of the three high courts have now forwarded their nominations to the commission.

Out of 11 nominees for the LHC, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has recommended the names of five serving law officers. Legal circles say this is perhaps the first time that a high court chief justice has recommended such a large number of serving law officers for appointment as additional judges.

The law officers recommended by the LHC chief justice are Advocate General Punjab Amjad Pervez, Prosecutor General Punjab Syed Farhad Ali Shah, Prosecutor General Islamabad Capital Territory Ghulam Sarwar Nihung, Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Dugal and Deputy Attorney General Asad Bajwa.

The remaining nominees are Shireen Imran, Muhammad Ajmal, Kashif Rajwana, Usman Ghani, Ameer Ajam Malik and Khalid Bin Aziz. Interestingly, the two opposition members of the JCP did not recommend any candidate for appointment to the LHC.

"We have sent names for the SHC but could not find anyone willing for other courts," said JCP member Senator Ali Zafar of the PTI. It is learnt that many lawyers are reluctant to give their consent to opposition members because they believe their nominations are unlikely to secure approval from the commission.

After the 26th Constitutional Amendment, former SC judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had recommended several lawyers with strong professional reputations, but they failed to obtain the majority vote required in the JCP.

Lawyers generally believe that, without the backing of the executive, appointments to the superior judiciary are difficult to secure. Even nominees proposed by chief justices, they argue, cannot be approved unless they receive government support in the commission.

For the SHC, Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput has recommended five names.

According to sources, the nominees are Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar, Humayun Advocate, Sara Malkani Advocate, Additional Advocate General Zeeshan Adhi and former Additional Advocate General Saulat Rizvi.

It is learnt that the chief justice has once again nominated a candidate belonging to a minority community for appointment to the SHC. Last year, however, the JCP missed an opportunity to appoint a judge from a minority community.

Since the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010, no member of a minority community has served as a judge of the Supreme Court or any of the country's five high courts.

For the BHC, Chief Justice Kamran Khan Mulakhail has recommended Saleem Lashari, Manzoor Shah and former Supreme Court Bar Association president Mian Rauf Atta. The names of Rehmat Barech, Amir Lehri and Mallag Dashti have also been forwarded for appointment as additional judges.

A senior lawyer described Mallag Dashti as one of the finest criminal law practitioners in Balochistan and Sindh, noting that he belongs to the Makran Division. However, the Balochistan Bar Council has strongly protested against two of the nominations.

For the IHC, Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar has recommended Umair Majeed Malik, former advocate general ICT Ayyaz Shaukat and Special Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand.

It is also learnt that Pakistan Bar Council representative in the JCP Ahsan Bhoon has recommended Wajid Gilani for appointment as a judge of the IHC and Shan Gul for appointment to the LHC.

Under the amended JCP rules, a committee comprising JCP members will conduct interviews of all the nominees before the commission proceeds further with the appointment process.