Government says PPP unhappy with JCP not considering its candidates for High Court judges
ISLAMABAD:
The government is unhappy with President Asif Ali Zardari’s refusal to approve the summary seeking the appointment of 19 additional judges in four high courts.
The JCP, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved the appointment of 19 additional judges for the high courts of Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad during its July 20-21 meetings.
Despite the passage of nine days, the president did not approve the summary for the appointment of judges.
A senior cabinet member, speaking to The Express PK Press Clubexpressed surprise at the delay in approving the summary. “This is a serious mistake on the part of the president,” 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 send it back to the Prime Minister for reconsideration.
He added that the delay in approving the summary could have consequences, saying the president’s inaction was causing resentment within the higher judiciary. He added that the government’s legal team was considering several options to resolve the matter.
The government side claims that PPP leaders are unhappy that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) did not consider its candidates for High Court judgeships.
JCP judicial members have already expressed consensus on the functioning of the constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court (SHC), after giving bench judges three months to deliver their results.
Similarly, members of the judiciary opposed the confirmation of Additional Justice Syed Fiaz ul Hassan Shah of the Sindh High Court, which is seen as another setback for the PPP.
The PPP leadership was particularly interested in securing the appointment of two of its candidates to the Sindh High Court (SHC). However, neither the judicial nor executive members of the commission supported their candidacy, as both candidates were under the age of 45.
Another government official said both the executive and the judiciary were of the view that the commission should not approve any candidate below the age of 45.
PPP senior legal member and JCP member Senator Farooq H Naek has fielded 33 candidates: 16 for SHC, 10 for LHC, five for BHC and two for IHC.
A member of the committee said the PPP could have secured nomination of other candidates from inside Sindh, considered aligned with the party, if it had not insisted on its two preferred candidates.
Last year, the PPP had managed to influence the appointments of judges in several high courts, including the SHC, the Peshawar High Court and the LHC.
After the 27th Constitutional Amendment, Justice KK Agha was elevated to the new Federal Constitutional Court, while another judge from the SHC was transferred to the IHC.
The president will be able to take a position on the subject in the next 48 hours.
