Senior Puisne Judge Aamer Farooq has been unanimously approved by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) as the new chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Tuesday’s JCP meeting was conducted to discuss the senior judge’s appointment, and it was presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.
The elevation of three justices from the high court, including Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah, to the Supreme Court, was confirmed last week by the Pakistani Judicial Commission, ending a nine-month deadlock.
Two seats on the high court were open after Justice Minallah was promoted to the top court.
Two seats on the high court were open after Justice Minallah was elevated to the apex court.
On November 3, the Parliamentary Committee on Judges’ Appointment will meet to discuss the JCP’s proposals for the elevation of three high court judges, including IHC CJ Minallah.
Justice Shafi Siddiqui, who is sixth on the seniority list of the Sindh High Court (SHC) Judges, was not approved by the JCP at its meeting on October 24 by a vote of 5 to 4.
It’s been reported that two senior judges were involved in heated arguments for about three hours throughout the meeting.
Additionally, it was discovered that the JCP unanimously accepted the elevation of Chief Justice Minallah of the IHC, while a majority of 5 to 4 votes approved the elevation of Justices Shahid Waheed and Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
A member of the JCP, Justice (ret.) Sarmad Jalal Osmany, dissented, saying that SHC Justice Aqeel Abbasi was a preferable candidate, and the nomination of SHC Justice Siddiqui was deferred by a vote of 5-4.
As supporters of the seniority principle, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah rejected the nomination of three junior high court justices.
