Lawyers have decided to convey their concerns to the superior judiciary regarding the nomination of five lawyers.. PHOTO: FILE
The capital lawyers have expressed their reservations at the nomination of five candidates for appointment of three Islamabad High Court additional judges.
They have decided to convey their concerns to the superior judiciary regarding the nomination of five lawyers.
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Mohsin Kayani told The Express Tribune that capital lawyers would meet Supreme Court Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and IHC chief justice Anwar Khan Kasi in next two days to convey their reservations about the proposed names.
CJP Jillani has convened a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on May 28 to discuss the appointment of the three additional judges.
Chief Justice Kasi has already initiated the name of noted lawyer Athar Minallah for appointment as IHC judge. Minallah is from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and was the spokesman for former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during the lawyers’ movement.
According to the Islamabad High Court Act, 2010, the court will comprise one chief justice and six judges and they would be appointed from all provinces and Fata.
After the retirement of Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan on May 14, Minallah’s name has been proposed for the post of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) judge. The IHC chief justice has proposed two names — Mian Abdul Rauf and Anees Jillani — for one post from Islamabad city.
Similarly, the CJ has also initiated the name of Shair Shah Kasi and Tahir Shah for one post of Balochistan.
They also said that a sub-committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Rahmat Hussain Jafri, will meet on May 27 to shortlist two names from the four nominees.
Kiyani said that they have raised objection over all the nominations because lawyers associated with Islamabad Bar have been ignored.
Questioning the nomination of Minallah, Islamabad District Bar Association president Nasir Ahmad Kayani said that names of Tariq Jahangiri, Haroonur Rasheed and Zulfiqar Abbasi should have been initiated on the seat of K-P because they are also members of the IBA.
Meanwhile the Supreme Court Bar Association president has also demanded that representatives of provincial bar associations should also be allowed to sit in the upcoming commission meeting for giving their input about the nominees of their respective bars.
The strength of the IHC has cut to three judges after the retirement of its senior-most judge Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan on May 14.
The total strength of the capital’s high court should be seven, but due to a shortage of judges, litigants are facing immense difficulties. There are over 13,000 cases pending in the court
Earlier, the CJP had summoned a meeting of the JCP on April 10 to discuss the appointment of two IHC judges.
CJ Kasi had recommended the same four names for the appointment of two additional judges.
Later, a three-member panel of the JCP’s subcommittee held a meeting for short-listing two names from among the four nominees. However, the meeting was postponed at the eleventh hour.
Meanwhile, Kayani also expressed disappointment over the top court’s suo motu proceedings regarding F-8 kacheri bomb blast because judicial inquiry team’s recommendations have not been implemented by federal government.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2014.
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