Chief justices of 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 progresses.
The JCP had called for 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 high court chief justices, requested nominations from all JCP members by July 4. The chief justices of three high courts have now forwarded their nominations to the commission.
LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has recommended five serving law officers out of 11 nominees. This move, suggesting such a significant number of serving law officers for additional judges, is a first according to legal circles.
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.
For the SHC, Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput has put forward five names, including Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar, Humayun Advocate, Sara Malkani Advocate, Additional Advocate General Zeeshan Adhi, and former Additional Advocate General Saulat Rizvi.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Kamran Khan Mulakhail has recommended several names for the BHC, including Saleem Lashari, Manzoor Shah, former Supreme Court Bar Association president Mian Rauf Atta, Rehmat Barech, Amir Lehri, and Mallag Dashti. Mallag Dashti, a renowned criminal law practitioner from Balochistan and Sindh, has received praise for his expertise.
In 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 for appointment as additional judges.
Under the revised JCP rules, a committee comprising JCP members will conduct interviews with all nominees before further steps are taken in the appointment process.
