Ignoring Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s letter, the meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan under the chair of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi began in Islamabad on Friday afternoon, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) was scheduled to hold two significant meetings today to deliberate on the appointment of additional judges for the Sindh and Peshawar High Courts.
The meeting for the appointment of nine additional judges to the Peshawar High Court began after Friday prayers, while the meeting to consider the appointment of 13 additional judges to the Sindh High Court will follow at 3 pm.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, a member of the Judicial Commission, has previously requested the postponement of these meetings. He has also advocated for the final approval of revised judges appointment rules before proceeding with any new appointments.
A separate meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is scheduled for 4 pm today to deliberate on the inclusion of Justice Shahid Bilal in a constitutional bench.
The session will be chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and attended by prominent commission members, including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin, and Justice Jamal Mandokhail. The Federal Law Minister, Attorney General for Pakistan, Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain, Senator Farooq Naek, Sheikh Aftab, and Roshan Khurshid, and from the opposition, Senator Ali Zafar and Barrister Gohar Khan will also participate in the proceedings.
Justice Mansoor's concerns about appointment of judges:
Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had written a letter to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, expressing his concerns about the appointment of judges without any rules and regulations.
Justice Shah said that he was head of the committee, which used to make rules for judges’ appointments. He said the committee had set some conditions to be met before the appointment of judges.
He stated that the committee should establish clear rules for the appointment of judges. He said the committee had set standards for rules for the appointment of judges.
He said it was decided by the committee that a judge’s competence, intelligence, and the ability to write judgements would be taken into account before his appointment.
He said that rules for the appointment of judges have not been made so far according to Article 175 A.
Justice Mansoor urges CJP to defer today's JC meeting
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah also called for the postponement of the judicial commission meeting scheduled for December 6 regarding the appointment of additional judges to the Sindh and Peshawar high courts in his letter.
Justice Mansoor also requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to convene a full court session to address the matter.
In his letter, Justice Mansoor highlighted the significance of pending petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which restructured the Judicial Commission.
He urged Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to direct the hearing of these petitions before proceeding with the Commission’s meeting.
Justice Mansoor argued that the Supreme Court's decision on the 26th Amendment could impact the validity of the Judicial Commission's formation and its decisions.
He warned that moving forward without resolving the constitutional challenges could risk embarrassment for the Supreme Court and Commission members if the amendment is declared unconstitutional.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori