ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari approved 19 additional high court judges and confirmed five as permanent on Tuesday, August 11, ending a weeks-long delay, according to the Presidency.
The appointments comprised 10 additional judges for the Lahore High Court (LHC) and three each for the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the Sindh High Court (SHC), and the Balochistan High Court (BHC).
The IHC appointees are Ayyaz Shaukat, Shahrukh Arjumand and Umair Majeed Malik. Muhammad Humayon Khan, Suresh Kumar and Dr Shah Nawaz Memon were appointed to the SHC.
The BHC appointments are Allah Dad Roshan, Abdul Qayyum Lehri and Muhammad Rauf Atta. The LHC appointees are Amir Ajam Malik, Asad Ali Bajwa, Muhammad Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema, Ghulam Sarwar Nihang, Khalid Ibn-i-Aziz, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Zahid, Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz, Munawar Iqbal Duggal, Shiren Imran and Syed Farhad Ali.
Four Peshawar High Court (PHC) additional judges Justices Farah Jamshed, Inaamullah Khan, Sabitullah Khan and Aurangzeb were confirmed as permanent.
Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa of the LHC was also confirmed, while SHC Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani received a six-month extension.
The approvals followed recommendations made by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) during meetings on July 20 and 21. The summary was forwarded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to reports on the presidential decision.
Read: Judicial Appointment Delay: IHC Seeks Federal Reports
The decision came one day after the IHC sought responses over the delay. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir issued notices to federal authorities on a petition filed by Luqman Zafar challenging the pending summary.
The Ministry of Law and Justice subsequently issued notifications implementing the appointments and confirmations.
