- Justice Sarfraz named chief of Islamabad High Court.
- Justice Junaid Ghaffar to head Sindh High Court.
- Justice Rozi Khan appointed Balochistan High Court chief.
ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday nominated permanent chief justices for four high courts.
The JCP meeting, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, convened to consider the nominations for high court appointments.
The top judicial body approved Justice Atiq Shah as the new chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), while Justice Rozi Khan has been endorsed for the top post at the Balochistan High Court (BHC).
Justice Junaid Ghaffar, the senior-most judge of the Sindh High Court (SHC), has been elevated as its new chief justice.
In addition, Justice Sarfraz Dogar has been approved as the permanent chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Justice Atiq Shah’s nomination was endorsed by 11 of the 16 members of the commission. He is currently the second most senior judge at the PHC.
However, Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar opposed his nomination, sources told Geo News. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s law minister and two members affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) also expressed their dissent.
The JCP, later, formally notified the Prime Minister’s Office of its approval for the appointment of permanent chief justices for four high courts.
In February, five IHC judges had moved the apex court against the appointment of Justice Dogar as the acting chief justice of IHC, as well as the transfer of three high court judges to their court.
The plea was filed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz.
However, the top court, on June 19, dismissed pleas filed against the transfer of judges and ruled that Justice Dogar could continue to work as IHC’s acting chief justice. Following this, the judges filed a review petition, which is pending.
