ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law and Justice has announced the elevation of three high court judges to the Supreme Court, following the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari.
The newly appointed Supreme Court judges are Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, LHC Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, and Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi. These appointments were sanctioned under Article 177.
With LHC Chief Justice Malik Shahzad’s elevation, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan has been appointed as the acting LHC Chief Justice by President Zardari under Article 196. Justice Shujaat will serve in this role until a permanent appointment is made.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, recommended these elevations earlier this month. The decision came after a JCP meeting where a 5-4 majority voted in favor of Justice Shahzad’s elevation. Justice Shahid’s elevation was also approved.
The nine-member JCP saw four members, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice (retd) Manzoor Ahmed Malik, opposing the elevation of the LHC Chief Justice. However, CJP Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din, Azam Tarar, AG Mansoor Usman Awan, and PBC representative Akhtar Hussain supported it.
The JCP, established under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, referred the names to the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment for final approval. This committee has the authority to confirm or reject the recommendations.
The Supreme Court currently has 14 judges, short of its full strength of 17, following the retirement of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and the resignations of Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi.
