ISLAMABAD: Twelve more judges, including one who previously served in the SHC but was not confirmed as a high court judge, were appointed to the Sindh High Court on Thursday by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
The JCP considered 46 candidates for 12 open SHC positions under the direction of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi of Pakistan.
A JCP press release states that ten attorneys—Miran Muhammad Shah, Abdul Hamid Bhrgari, Ali Haider Ada, Jan Ali Junejo, Mohammad Hassan Akbar (Advocate General), Mohammad Jaffer Raza, Mohammad Osman Ali Hadi, Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro, Syed Fiaz ul Hassan Shah (Prosecutor General), and Riazat Ali Sahar—as well as two session judges, Tasneem Sultana and Khalid Hussain Shahani, were authorized for appointment to the SHC.
It’s interesting to note that Mr. Sahar, a former vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), was once an extra judge in the Supreme Court.
He was given a one-year term in 2012. Later, in the 2013 JCP meeting, he received a one-year extension.
His name was not verified by the JCP in 2014.
Dr. Rana Mohammad Shamim, a PBC member at the time, claims that Mr. Sahar’s name was removed because the JCP was dissatisfied with his performance.
When contacted, Farooq H. Naek, the departing vice chairman of PBC, claimed that Sahar had fallen prey to the internal politics of the judiciary. However, he claimed that PBC representative and counsel Akhatar Hussain had suggested his name.
Under Ahsan Bhoon’s leadership, Mr. Hussain is a member of the PBC’s pro-government Independent Group.
The nomination was criticized by PBC member Shafqat Mehmood Chohan of the Hamid Khan-led professional group, who claimed that it revealed the openness of the selection process for the higher judicial forum.
According to him, PBC, the leading regulatory organization for the legal community, is nominating people without establishing any guidelines.
He claims that the nominations for high court justices were finalized by a federal minister, the leader of the PBC group, and a few outsiders.
