Government says PPP unhappy with the JCP for not considering its nominees for high court judges
ISLAMABAD:
The government is unhappy with President Asif Ali Zardari for withholding approval of the summary seeking the appointment of 19 additional judges to four high courts.
The JCP, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved the nominations of 19 additional judges for the Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad high courts during its meetings on July 20 and 21.
Despite the passage of nine days, the president has not approved the summary for the appointment of the judges.
A senior cabinet member, speaking to The Express Tribune, expressed surprise over the delay in approving the summary. “It is serious misconduct on the president’s part,” the cabinet member said.
He clarified that the summary was initiated by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), not the prime minister, and therefore the president could not return it to the PM for reconsideration.
He further said that the delay in approving the summary could have consequences, claiming that the president’s inaction was causing resentment within the superior judiciary. He added that the government’s legal team was considering several options to deal with the matter.
The government side claims that the PPP leadership is unhappy with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for not considering its nominees for high court judges.
JCP judicial members have already expressed a consensus on the working of the constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court (SHC), after giving the judges of the benches three months to deliver results.
Similarly, judicial members opposed the confirmation of Sindh High Court Additional Judge Syed Fiaz ul Hassan Shah, which is being considered another setback for the PPP.
The PPP leadership was particularly interested in securing the appointment of two of its nominees to the Sindh High Court (SHC). However, neither the judicial nor executive members of the commission supported their candidacies, as both nominees were below the age of 45.
Another government official said that both the executive and the judiciary were of the view that the commission should not approve any nominee under the age of 45.
PPP’s senior legal member and JCP member Senator Farooq H Naek proposed 33 candidates – 16 for the SHC, 10 for the LHC, five for the BHC and two for the IHC.
A commission member said that the PPP could have secured appointments for other candidates from interior Sindh, who were considered aligned with the party, had it not insisted on its two preferred nominees.
Last year, the PPP had managed to influence judicial appointments in several high courts, particularly the SHC, Peshawar High Court and LHC.
After the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Justice K K Agha was elevated to the newly established Federal Constitutional Court, while another SHC judge was transferred to the IHC.
The president may take a position on the matter within the next 48 hours.
