Justice Isa picks six judges from LHC, three from SHC as JCP set to convene on June 7

Mehtab Pirzada

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has nominated nine judges from the Lahore and Sindh high courts to fill three vacant positions in the Supreme Court (SC).

From the Lahore High Court (LHC), six judges have been proposed for two SC seats:

• Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan
• Justice Shujaat Ali Khan
• Justice Ali Baqar Najfi
• Justice Shahid Bilal
• Justice Abdul Abid Aziz Sheikh

From the Sindh High Court (SHC), three judges have been nominated for one SC seat:

• Justice Aqeel Abbasi
• Justice Shafi Siddiqui
• Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) will meet on June 7 to consider these nominees. The JCP, led by the CJP, is the highest authority for recommending judicial appointments to the SC, high courts, and the Shariat court.

This meeting takes place amidst a proposal to change the rules for appointing judges to the apex court. This proposal, prepared by JCP member Akhtar Hussain from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and former JCP member Advocate Amjad Farooq Khattak, suggests that judge appointments should be based on merit, not relationships or affiliations.

Hussain mentioned that at least one judge should be appointed from the SHC and one from the LHC, and that the power to nominate judges should not rest solely with the chief justices. The draft of the proposed changes has been finalized, and a full JCP meeting is needed for approval.