Pakistan appoints Chief Justices to four High Courts under new judicial framework

Pakistan's Judicial Commission has approved the appointment of permanent Chief Justices to the Islamabad, Peshawar, Balochistan, and Sindh High Courts under the new judicial framework established by the contentious 26th Amendment.

The 26th Amendment, passed in October 2024, controversially restructured Pakistan's judicial system by giving parliament more power to select judges and changing how the chief justices are appointed.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) initially considered three candidates for the permanent position of Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court: Justice S.M. Attique Shah, Justice Ijaz Anwar, and Justice Arshad Ali. Following deliberation, the Commission approved Justice Attique for the permanent Chief Justice position by majority vote.

For the permanent Chief Justice role at Balochistan High Court, the Commission reviewed the candidacies of Justice Rozi Khan Barrech, Muhammad Kamran Khan Mulakhail, and Justice Iqbal Ahmad Kasi. The Commission selected Justice Barrech for the position through a majority decision.

For the Sindh High Court, the Commission endorsed Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar's appointment as permanent Chief Justice. Regarding Islamabad High Court, the Commission evaluated three nominees: Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, ultimately choosing Justice Dogar for the permanent Chief Justice role.

Justice Dogar's transfer from Lahore High Court to Islamabad High Court was earlier challenged by five judges of Islamabad High Court before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed their petition and directed the President of Pakistan to determine the seniority issue.

Based on seniority considerations, President Asif Ali Zardari declared Justice Dogar the senior judge of Islamabad High Court. Subsequently, the JCP approved his appointment as permanent Chief Justice. The five judges have filed an appeal against this decision, which remains pending and has not yet been scheduled for hearing.

Proposal to wait rejected

Before the session commenced, Supreme Court senior judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah demanded that the JCP first address the 26th Constitutional Amendment passed in October 2024, which restructured the commission's composition and is currently under constitutional challenge through over two dozen pending petitions.

Justice Munib Akhtar, who has served as a Supreme Court Justice since 2018 and is the second-most senior judge, and two PTI representatives endorsed this position.

Consequently, the JCP, chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, deliberated over and rejected the proposal by Justice Shah to postpone the appointments until a decision on the 26th Amendment.