Category: 1. Pakistan

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday appointed the chief justices to the four high courts, a statement issued by the Supreme Court said.

Per the statement, the JCP held four consecutive meetings to make a decision related to the appointments and, by a majority of its total membership in each meeting, opted to allow the acting chief justices to continue serving the top roles.

Letters were subsequently issued to the prime minister’s principal secretary, informing the government about the nominations and requesting the forwarding of the same to the president for their appointment.

The letters said that Justice Sarfraz Dogar was nominated as the new chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Rozi Khan Barrech as the chief justice for the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah for the Peshawar High Court, and Justice Junaid Ghaffar for the Sindh High Court (SHC).

Pre­sident Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday had already formally decla­red Justice Dogar the “senior-most judge” of the IHC, following the issuance of a revised seniority list by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The development followed a ruling by the Supreme Court on June 19, upholding the constitutionality of transferring three judges from other provincial high courts and referring the matter of seniority determination to the president.

On Friday, five IHC judges had challenged the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the transfer of three judges — Justice Dogar from the LHC, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the SHC, and Justice Muhammad Asif from the BHC.

President Zardari had also declared that the status of the transfer of all three judges would be permanent.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved on Tuesday the appointments of permanent chief justices for four major high courts, including Peshawar, Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad.

According to sources, Justice SM Attique Shah has been appointed as the permanent Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, reported Express News.

His name was chosen from among three candidates including Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali.

For the Balochistan High Court, Justice Rozi Khan was confirmed as the new Chief Justice.

He was selected based on his top seniority ranking, ahead of other two nominees, namely Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan and Justice Iqbal Ahmed Kasi.

Meanwhile, Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar has been appointed as the permanent Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court. His appointment was reportedly unanimous, as he currently ranks highest in the court’s seniority list.

Read: Five IHC judges file intra-court appeal

The commission also deliberated over the Islamabad High Court’s top post, reviewing the names of Justice Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar was confirmed as the new Chief Justice, securing a majority vote with nine JCP members in favour. He also leads the court’s seniority list.

Plea before SC

Meanwhile, Senator Ali Zafar, a member of the JCP affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told media outside the Supreme Court that his stance remains firm — only the senior-most judge should be appointed as chief justice.

He noted that an intra-court appeal concerning IHC judges’ seniority is still pending and said the matter should not have been discussed until the appeal is decided.

“If our view is not accepted, we will vote accordingly,” he said, without disclosing how he had cast his vote.

Earlier, five IHC judges had challenged the apex court’s order endorsing the transfer of three judges to the IHC.

They have also requested the apex court to restrain the three transferred judges — including Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar — from performing any judicial or administrative functions as IHC judges.

The judges, including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, have filed an intra-court appeal against the order through counsels Muneer A Malik and Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed advocate in the apex court.

ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed the disqualification hearing of National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan until July 15. The adjournment came after Ayub’s lawyer submitted a stay order issued by the Peshawar High Court related to the case.

A three-member bench, led by ECP Member Sindh Nisar Durrani, conducted the proceedings on Tuesday. During the hearing, Justice (retd) Ikramullah from KP noted that the court order lacked a specified next date, prompting the ECP to ask its legal team to seek clarification from the Peshawar High Court.

Notably, Omar Ayub was absent from the hearing. However, the bench stressed that the reference sent by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq must be decided within the given time frame. The Commission also directed Ayub to submit a written response in the assets declaration case.

The opposition leader is accused of submitting inaccurate details in his nomination papers and providing misleading information to the returning officer. These allegations are part of a disqualification reference filed by PML-N’s Babar Nawaz, who was defeated by Ayub in the 2024 general elections from Haripur.

As the hearing continues, political tensions remain high. The outcome could significantly impact the opposition’s role in the National Assembly, especially if the ECP finds grounds for disqualification.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit Baltistan and State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Provincial President Engineer Amir Muqam and Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi here on Tuesday discussed the prevailing political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
 
During the meeting, both leaders expressed deep concern over the lack of good governance, worsening law and order, and what they termed as record-breaking corruption under the current provincial administration.

They described the present provincial government as highly detrimental to the interests of the province.

The two leaders also consulted on the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on reserved seats and its implications for the political landscape in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
 
Issues related to Kashmir, the situation in the merged tribal districts, and the misuse of federal funds allocated for these areas by the provincial government were also discussed.
 
The leaders condemned what they called the provincial administration’s misappropriation of these funds and emphasized the need to address the growing concerns of the people in the merged districts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the government is not considering any proposal to shut down or merge national institutions of academic, literary, historical, or cultural significance.

He was talking to PML-N Parliamentary Leader in the Upper House Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who called on him in Islamabad today (Tuesday).

Declaring sources of knowledge and literature as the spirit of a society, the Prime Minister said Pakistan possesses a rich heritage of civilization and culture, which is a source of national pride. He said on the contrary, the government will strive to make these institutions stronger, more effective and more productive so that society can be cleansed of extremism and country’s true soft image can emerge before the world.

Irfan Siddiqui informed the Prime Minister about the concerns among intellectuals, writers, poets, and artists across the country regarding the recommendations of the government’s rightsizing committee to shut down or merge scholastic institutions. He also reminded Shehbaz Sharif that during ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s previous tenure, special attention was given to these institutions and their performance was widely appreciated across all sectors of society.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif further said societies that sideline knowledge, literature and the fine arts fall prey to mechanical thinking and lose feelings of delicate human emotions. He added that the government will soon form a committee to improve the management and performance of these institutions and expand their scope and mandate in line with the demands of the modern era.

Irfan Siddiqui thanked the Prime Minister for his clear stance on academic and literary institutions.

Judicial Commission of Pakistan meeting chaired by CJP Yahya Afridi

Topline

• Justice Sarfraz Dogar approved as Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court
  

• Justice SM Attique Shah’s name approved for top judge at Peshawar High Court
  

• Justice Rozi Khan and Justice Junaid Ghaffar to head Balochistan and Sindh high courts respectively
  

Updated On: Tue, 01 Jul 2025

19:59:51 PKT

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has approved the appointment of permanent chief justices for four high courts.

Justice Sarfraz Dogar has been approved as Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, Justice SM Attique Shah of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Rozi Khan as Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, and Justice Junaid Ghaffar as Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court.

According to sources, the meeting of the Judicial Commission was chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi to consider appointments for permanent chief justices of the high courts of Sindh, Balochistan, Peshawar, and Islamabad. The names of the three most senior judges from each court were reviewed during the session.

Read also: Peshawar High Court halts oath-taking of reserved seat MPAs

The Judicial Commission comprises 13 permanent members. However, in the case of High Court Chief Justice appointments, the number of commission members rises to 16, and a majority of at least nine members is required for the approval of a nomination.

The Judicial Commission includes the Chief Justice of Pakistan, four judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, two government representatives, and two opposition members.

In addition, Ahsan Bhoon represented the Pakistan Bar in the commission, while Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, nominated by the Speaker of the National Assembly, also participated. For the appointment of provincial Chief Justices, the relevant Provincial Law Minister, a representative of the High Court Bar, and a former High Court judge were also present at the meeting.

Justice Mansoor Shah raises objection

Senior Supreme Court judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah raised an objection during a Judicial Commission meeting, demanding that a decision on the 26th Constitutional Amendment be made before proceeding with any appointments.

Justice Muneeb Akhtar and two PTI members of the commission supported his stance.

Justice Mansoor objected during the proceedings, insisting that the unresolved issue of the 26th Amendment should be addressed first. PTI’s judicial commission members and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Law Minister also backed his view.

Earlier, PTI Senator Ali Zafar, a member of the Judicial Commission, spoke to the media outside the Supreme Court. He reiterated PTI’s stance that the most senior judge should be appointed as Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court. He added that the matter of judges’ seniority in the IHC is still pending in an intra-court appeal.

He emphasized that until a final decision is made on the seniority matter, further discussions should be avoided. “Our position will be reflected in our vote,” he said, without disclosing how PTI members plan to vote.