The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has nominated nine judges for constitutional benches in the Sindh High Court (SHC), sources revealed on Monday. The decision came during a meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, who abstained from voting.
The meeting, attended by Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, and Amin-ud-Din Khan, along with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, former senator Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, Pakistan Bar Council member Akhtar Hussain, and government representatives Farooq Hamid Naek and Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, focused on the nomination of judges for the SHC’s constitutional benches.
Sources indicated that Justice KK Agha will lead the constitutional benches and the constitutional committee in Sindh, which will also include Justice Umar Sial and Muhammad Saleem Jasar.
The JCP nominated Justices Zulfiqar Ali Sanghi, Arbab Ali, Yusuf Ali Syed, Khadim Hussain Soomro, and Sana Munas Ikram for the benches.
The formation of the constitutional benches was approved by a majority vote within the commission, with 11 votes in favor of the nine nominated judges. However, Justices Shah, Akhtar, and the SHC chief justice expressed dissenting opinions, and CJP Afridi abstained from voting.
Earlier, in a previous meeting, all SHC judges were asked to submit their nominations for the constitutional benches by November 24.
An official announcement regarding the JCP’s decision will be issued soon.
It is important to note that the previous meeting had not resulted in a decision on the judges for the SHC’s constitutional benches.
This development follows the recent constitutional amendments passed by the government on October 21, which gave lawmakers more influence over the appointment of top judges. These amendments have led to the formation of new benches of senior judges tasked with addressing constitutional issues, a central point of contention between the government and opposition leader Imran Khan in the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, the government swiftly passed bills related to the Supreme Court and the armed forces in the National Assembly, and the Senate also approved them within minutes. One of the key provisions in the bills includes the addition of Article 191A to the Constitution, which outlines the formation of constitutional benches, under the preamble of the 2023 act. This article allows the Supreme Court to create rules for its practice and procedures.
