Ad-hoc appointments: Lawyers protest after committee refuses permanent jobs for judges

The city's lawyers' community has vowed to put up a legal fight after a parliamentary committee overturned the judicial commission's recommendation to grant permanent jobs to two ad-hoc Sindh High Court justices.

The parliamentary committee, headed by Pakistan Peoples Party stalwart Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, had refused to grant permanent jobs to Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui because they had not allegedly paid taxes.

Members of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) held a general body meeting on Thursday and condemned the "baseless" allegations against the two judges.

"The bar association feels that the parliamentary committee wrongly victimised honorable judges of the Sindh High Court on baseless grounds," they stated in a unanimously adopted resolution.

The association demanded that allegations leveled against the two judges be taken back immediately, and that their jobs are made permanent, in line the recommendations of the judicial commission.

"The SHCBA shall stand by the judges and undertake every possible effort to reverse the decision of the parliamentary body."

The members also authorised the association to file a constitutional petition with the SHC, challenging the controversial decision of the parliamentary committee.