ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan is set to deliberate on the appointment of four ad hoc judges in an effort to address the backlog of pending cases in the Supreme Court, according to sources cited by news.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa has recommended Justice (retd) Mushir Alam and Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqir as nominees for ad hoc judgeships. Also included in the list are Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood.
Justice Alam retired from the apex court in August 2021, Justice Baqir in April 2022, Justice Miankhel in July 2022, and Justice Masood in March 2024.
The proposal entails appointing these former judges as ad hoc judges for a period of up to three years, considering their extensive experience and qualifications. The Judicial Commission is scheduled to convene on July 19 at 3 pm in the Supreme Court’s conference room to deliberate on this matter.
The official notification for the meeting acknowledges the mounting number of pending cases in the Supreme Court, emphasizing the need to expedite adjudication to address the backlog accumulated over several years.
According to the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan’s bi-annual report on judicial statistics, as of the second half of 2023, the total number of pending cases across courts reached 2.26 million, marking a 3.9% increase in overall case pendency. The report further delineates that 82% of these pending cases (1.86 million) are at the district judiciary level, while the remaining 18% (0.39 million) are in the upper tiers, including the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and high courts.
During the same period, courts nationwide handled 2.30 million cases while receiving 2.38 million new filings, contributing to the persistent rise in pending cases despite significant efforts to resolve existing litigation.
The report highlights that civil cases constitute 81% of the pending cases in high courts, with criminal cases accounting for the remaining 19%.
