Notification delay stalls judges' appointments

Swearing-in postponed as presidency withholds notification over reported objections

RAWALPINDI:

The appointment of nine judges to the Lahore High Court has been delayed after reported objections from the presidency prevented the issuance of the notification.

The swearing-in ceremony for the nine nominated additional judges was expected earlier this week but was postponed after the notification was not issued. The delay has also reportedly affected the appointment process for additional judges in the Islamabad and Sindh high courts.

According to the report, the Judicial Commission had forwarded its recommendations for appointments to the Lahore, Islamabad and Sindh high courts to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week. Following the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments, the Prime Minister's Office sent a summary to the Presidency under Article 175 of the Constitution for issuance of the notification.

However, according to sources, the Presidency withheld the summary after raising various objections. Sources also claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari had raised objections regarding the nominated additional judges for the Sindh High Court.

The report further said that under the new judicial appointments system, the PML-N holds a majority in the Judicial Commission, while the Pakistan Peoples Party remains in the minority. Sources also claimed that the Presidency objected to the alleged concealment of an FIR registered against one nominee for the Lahore High Court and sought reports on the nominees' case performance, reported judgments, legal standing and merit.

Pakistan Peoples Lawyers Forum Rawalpindi Division president Masood Shah and Malik Zaheer Arshad told The Express Tribune that understandings reached with the PPP regarding judicial appointments had been ignored.

They said the party received only one seat in the Sindh High Court and had effectively been excluded from appointments to the Lahore High Court.

Meanwhile, the High Court Bar Association Rawalpindi Bench, the District Bar Association Rawalpindi and the Peoples Lawyers Forum raised strong objections to the nominations. The forum has written to the Presidency seeking cancellation of the new list, alleging that both the PPP and Rawalpindi Division had been ignored.

The High Court Bar Association has also constituted a five-member committee of senior lawyers to meet the prime minister, federal law minister, chief justice of the Lahore High Court, chief justice of Pakistan and members of the Judicial Commission to present its concerns. It warned of a strong response across Rawalpindi Division if its demands were not accepted.