Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Ali Zafar was appointed as a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Wednesday, where he will represent the opposition. The JCP is responsible for appointing judges to the country’s superior courts.
The appointment was made by Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, who consulted with the leader of the opposition before finalizing the decision. This development follows the resignation of PTI Senator Shibli Faraz, who nominated Barrister Zafar to take his place on the 13-member body, as per the directives of PTI founder Imran Khan.
In his resignation, Senator Faraz expressed his longstanding desire to contribute to improving the judicial system and to uphold justice in Pakistan. However, he cited personal challenges, including being entangled in multiple false cases and new FIRs against him, which had made it difficult for him to fully focus on his responsibilities. He stated that these circumstances had left him unable to give the position the attention it deserved.
Faraz had been nominated for the JCP after the reconstitution of the body following the 26th Constitutional Amendment. The JCP is led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and includes representatives from the Senate, National Assembly, senior judges of the Supreme Court, and the legal community. Its responsibilities include appointing judges to the Supreme Court, high courts, and the Federal Shariat Court, as well as overseeing their performance.
In a separate development, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Ayub, also submitted his resignation, citing multiple legal cases and FIRs against him. He nominated PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan to succeed him on the commission, expressing confidence in his legal expertise and integrity.
