The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the nomination of a junior judge of the Sindh High Court Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar to the Supreme Court with a 5:4 majority.
According to sources, the decision was made with five members approving the nomination whereas four opposed it. Chairman of the Commission Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed reached the decision during the Commission meeting here at Islamabad.
It is pertinent to mention that the JCP on July 13 approved the nomination of Balochistan High Court (BHC) Chief Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail to the top court. However, the Commission deferred the matter relating to the elevation of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who is fifth on SHC seniority.
Reliable sources disclosed that a few JCP members expressed serious reservations over the nomination of Justice Mazhar and strongly endorsed the superior bars’ concerns. One member even asked as to why four senior SHC judges, including SHC Chief Justice Ahmad Ali Sheikh, were being ignored.
Earlier, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the top regulatory body of legal fraternity observed a strike on July 13 in order to register a protest against the nomination of the SHC junior judge to the Supreme Court.
During the last meeting of the Commission, AGP Khalid Javed Khan proposed a formula in order to redress the lawyers’ concerns. In view of that proposed formula, two judges could be elevated from the SHC to the SC. However, one will perform as an ad hoc SC judge.
