The Parliamentary Committee on Judges' Appointment in the Superior Courts accorded its formal approval on Monday to appointment of eight new judges, and extension in the service of six Lahore High Court judges. In an in-camera meeting held at the Parliament House, members of the committee vetted credentials of the candidates along with recommendations made by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, the committee member and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said the parliamentary committee has fully endorsed the recommendations made by the judicial commission. "The decision about appointment of eight new judges and extension in the service of six judges is made unanimously after going through the credentials of each candidate," he said.
Qureshi said the committee members reviewed performance and track record of each candidate and "the decision is made on merit." He said that three of the newly-appointed judges are from southern Punjab while one belongs to minorities. "People from southern Punjab usually get fewer opportunities to excel in different fields but now three of the judges are appointed from that area," he said.
The eight judges appointed in the Lahore High Court are: Shamas Mahmood Mirza, Shahbaz Rizvi, Shah Khawar, Sikandar Zulqarnain, Faisal Zaman, Zafarullah Khakwani, Shahid Jamil Khan and James Joseph. The parliamentary committee approved extension in service of these judges: Justice Atir Mahmood, Justice Alia Neelum, Justice Shahzada Mazhar, Justice Abdul Aziz Sheikh, Justice Shahid Bilal and Justice Shoaib Saeed.
A participant of the committee told Business Recorder that the committee members also discussed the report of each candidate received from Federal Board of Revenue and Intelligence Bureau. "All the candidates are of impeccable character and sound in profession," he said. Under Article 175-A of the Constitution, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan is required to nominate one person for each vacancy of a judge in the Supreme Court, a High Court or the Federal Shariat Court through a majority of its total membership in the parliamentary committee for final approval.
The committee on receipt of a nomination from the judicial commission may confirm the nominee by majority of its total membership within 14 days, failing which the nominee shall be deemed to have been confirmed. The parliamentary committee shall consist of the eight members: four from the Senate and four from the National Assembly. The nomination of members from the Treasury benches shall be made by the Leader of the House and from the Opposition benches by the Leader of the Opposition.