With five more judges, SC constitutional bench swells to 13

• JCP meeting held with CJP Afridi in chair.
• PTI opposes new appointments to SC constitutional bench.
• Justice Aamer Farooq also added to constitutional bench.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Friday gave its nod to add five more top court judges to the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, taking the total number of judges on the bench to 13.

The JCP meeting was held with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi in the chair at the Supreme Court Building in Islamabad.

According to a statement issued by the top court, the JCP meeting nominated the judges in the constitutional bench of the apex court, by a majority of its total membership. The judges include, Justice Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, Justice Shakeel Ahmad, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.

Sources privy to the matter revealed that SC senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and two PTI members of the JCP — Barrister Ali Zafar and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan opposed the move.

Meanwhile, another JCP meeting nominated four judges as additional judges of Lahore High Court by majority vote. The judges include District and Sessions Judge Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Justice Tanveer Ahmad Sheikh, Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa and Justice Abher Gul Khan.

During its third meeting, the JCP nominated the following judges in constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court: Justice Riazat Ali Sahar, Justice Abdul Hamid Bhurgri and Justice Nisar Ahmad Bhanbhro.

Earlier this month, the JCP approved the appointment of six new judges to the SC amid a boycott by PTI lawmakers and two senior SC judges.

According to a press release issued by the JCP, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of CJP Afridi to consider the nominations for appointment of high court judges in the SC and, by a majority of its total membership, nominated six judges.

The chief justices of all high courts, except the Lahore High Court (LHC) were among the six judges nominated. These included Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Aamer Farooq.

The Commission, also by a majority of its total membership, nominated IHC's Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb for appointment as the Acting Judge of the Supreme Court.