The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the appointment of six new Supreme Court judges on Monday, despite a boycott by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and two senior Supreme Court judges.
The meeting, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, finalized the appointments amid ongoing disputes over judicial reforms and seniority issues.
New Judges of the Pakistan Supreme Court
The newly appointed judges include:
- Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Shafi Siddiqui from the Sindh High Court (SHC).
- Justice Hashim Khan Kakar from the Balochistan High Court (BHC).
- Justice Shakeel Ahmed and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim from the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
- Justice Aamer Farooq, Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), was elevated to the apex court.
The JCP had initially rescheduled its meeting to February 10 to fill eight vacant Supreme Court positions. However, the session was marred by controversy, with PTI leaders and two Supreme Court judges refusing to participate.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Senator Ali Zafar boycotted the meeting, arguing that it should have been postponed until pending cases against the 26th Constitutional Amendment were resolved. The amendment, which reconstituted the JCP to include four parliamentarians, has been a contention within the judiciary.
Read: Judicial Commission of Pakistan to Decide on Supreme Court Appointments
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, both members of the JCP, also abstained from the meeting. Earlier, they had requested a delay in the session, citing unresolved seniority issues and pending petitions against the 26th Amendment.
Barrister Gohar emphasized that PTI had already filed petitions challenging the amendment and expressed disappointment that the meeting proceeded despite their objections. “Our stance was clear: the meeting should have been postponed until a decision on the 26th Amendment was made,” he stated.
Pakistan Supreme Court Seniority Dispute
The appointments come amid a broader controversy over the seniority of judges, particularly in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Following the transfer of Lahore High Court’s Justice Sarfraz Dogar to the IHC, the court revised its seniority list, sparking protests from five IHC judges.
The judges argued that transferred judges must take a fresh oath under Article 194 of the Constitution, which would place them at the bottom of the seniority list. This would render them ineligible for immediate consideration for the position of IHC Chief Justice.
