By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan, the body responsible for appointments to the superior judiciary, will convene on Dec. 2 for its first meeting since the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment and the creation of the new Federal Constitutional Court, with a heavy agenda that includes filling a Supreme Court vacancy and naming new chief justices for two provincial high courts.
The session, scheduled for 2:30 pm in the Supreme Court building’s conference room, will be chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and will mark the commission’s debut in its reconfigured form under the amended constitutional framework.
Among the items on the agenda is the elevation of one judge from the Islamabad High Court to the Supreme Court. The names of the judges under consideration and their exact positions on the seniority list will be revealed only closer to or during the meeting.
The Supreme Court’s strength has already been significantly altered by recent developments. Four sitting justices — Aminuddin Khan, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Aamer Farooq and Ali Baqar Najafi, have been transferred to the newly established Federal Constitutional Court, while Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah have resigned. The court’s sanctioned strength, previously 24 judges after earlier expansions, now stands at 18.
The commission will also take up the appointment of a permanent chief justice for the Sindh High Court from among its three most senior judges: acting Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Mahmood A. Khan.
A similar process will unfold for the Balochistan High Court, where the panel will choose from acting Chief Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Mulakhail, Justice Iqbal Ahmed Kasi and Justice Shaukat Ali Rakhshani.
The Dec. 2 meeting will reflect the new composition of the Judicial Commission itself. Alongside Chief Justice Afridi, members will include Federal Constitutional Court Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan; Supreme Court Justices Munib Akhtar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Aamer Farooq; Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan; Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar; Pakistan Bar Council representative Ahsan Bhoon; and parliamentary representatives Senators Farooq H. Naek and Syed Ali Zafar and National Assembly members Sheikh Aftab Ahmad and Gohar Ali Khan.
The 27th Amendment has also reshuffled other key judicial bodies. Supreme Court Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail has been added to both the Supreme Judicial Council, the forum that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct, and the Practice and Procedure Committee, which determines bench formation and case fixation.
Justice Aamer Farooq of the Federal Constitutional Court has been included in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. The changes represent the most far-reaching restructuring of Pakistan’s higher judiciary in years, redistributing powers and personnel across the Supreme Court, the new constitutional court, and the high courts at a moment when public and political scrutiny of judicial affairs remains intense.
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