12-member parliamentary committee formed for appointment of chief justice

The National Assembly late on Monday notified the formation of a 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the upcoming chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), the 24NewsHD TV channel reported.

According to the notification, the committee members are Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaista Pervaiz, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Rana Ansar, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Ali Zafar, Farooq H Naek, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Kamran Murtaza.

The committee will hold an in-camera meeting at the Parliament House at 4pm tomorrow (Tuesday) to decide the name of next chief justice.

The recommendation will be considered final after the committee agrees on a name for the coveted judiciary post with a two-thirds majority. Over the committee’s recommendation, the prime minister will send the nomination to the president for final approval

President signs 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law

The coalition government started appointing a new top court judge following the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which mandates the top judicial slot be filled three days before the incumbent's retirement.

The 26th Constitutional Amendment sets the CJP’s term at three years or until they reach the retirement age of 65.

Additionally, the selection of the chief justice will no longer be based solely on seniority. Instead, the choice will be made among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court. 

PM praises Mohsin Naqvi for his role in securing consensus on 26th Amendment

The next two most senior apex court judges are Justices Munib Akhtar and Yahya Afridi. If any of the three senior judges declines the position, the next senior judge will be considered. 

President Asif Ali Zardari signed the bill into law on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the wee hours of Monday.

Under the modified law, the new appointment must be finalised by October 22 at 12 am.