Three newly-elevated SC judges to take oath on November 11

• Justice Aamir Farooq will also be taking his oath on November 11 as chief justice of the IHC.
• Judges' appointment to SC was approved by president under Article 175A of Constitution.
• Last month, JCP recommended elevation of aforementioned judges to the SC.

ISLAMABAD: Three newly-elevated judges of the Supreme Court will be taking their oaths on November 11 after President Arif Alvi approved their names.

The President's Secretariat, in a statement, announced he has approved the appointment of Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Sindh High Court (SHC), and Lahore High Court's (LHC) Justice Shahid Waheed.

The statement further mentioned that the president has also approved the name of Justice Aamir Farooq as the IHC's new chief justice.

According to the statement, the appointment of the judges to the top court was approved by the president under Article 175A of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Law and Justice will issue a notification in this regard tomorrow. The ministry added that all four judges will take oaths on November 11.

Last month, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended the elevation of the aforementioned judges to the SC.

A meeting of the JCP was held at the SC, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umer Ata Bandial. It was learnt that the commission, after thorough deliberations, approved the names of Justice Minallah, Justice Waheed, and Justice Syed Rizvi, for their elevation to the Supreme Court. 

The commission, however, deferred the name of Justice Shafi Siddiqui, another judge of the SHC, as the commission members could not develop a consensus over his elevation to the apex court.

Five seats fell vacant in the apex court upon the retirement of former CJP Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Maqbool Baqir, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed. After the approval of the commission, the names of the approved judges were sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges for final approval.