No Supreme Court judge in JCP panels for high court judge vetting

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development signaling a marked departure from the established judicial hierarchy, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has formally notified separate interview committees to vet candidates for appointment as additional judges in four high courts, with not a single Supreme Court judge included in any of the panels.

The notification, issued on Wednesday and obtained by Dawn, invokes Rule 10A of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules, 2024, and bears the approval of the JCP chairperson — the chief justice of Pakistan.

The committees have been tasked with interviewing candidates nominated until July 4, 2026, for the Lahore High Court (LHC), Islamabad High Court (IHC), Sindh High Court (SHC), and Balochistan High Court (BHC).

Interestingly, the composition of the four committees, while varying slightly in their judicial members, uniformly draws its judicial strength from either the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) or the respective high courts, conspicuously bypassing the Supreme Court.

For the LHC and the IHC, the same seven-member panel has been constituted. FCC Judge Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi will chair both committees. The other members include LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Farooq Hamid Naek and Syed Ali Zafar, and Supreme Court Bar Association representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

For the SHC, the chairmanship has been assigned to FCC Judge Aamer Farooq. The panel includes LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, SHC Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, along with the attorney general, the two senators, and Bhoon.

A similar composition has been notified for the BHC, with Justice Aamer Farooq again serving as chairperson and BHC Chief Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Malakhail replacing the Sindh chief justice as a member. The remaining members are identical across all panels.

The notification comes against the backdrop of stalled judicial appointments in various high courts, which had remained in limbo due to the absence of revised rules following the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The amendment had empowered the commission to frame rules regulating its procedures, including the “procedure and criteria for assessment, interview, evaluation and fitness for appointment of judges”.

Sources told Dawn that the JCP’s Rule-Making Committee had met on May 6 to deliberate on the criteria and procedure for appointments. The committee, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Naek and Zafar, and bar representative Bhoon, had discussed multiple proposals.

It is learnt that Senator Zafar had proposed that the entire JCP interview each candidate when his or her nomination came before the commission. Senator Naek, however, had suggested that a seven-member committee conduct interviews prior to the JCP meeting and submit recommendations to the commission. The final notification reflects that Senator Naek’s proposal was ultimately adopted.

Sources further disclosed that Bhoon had proposed a five-member committee comprising two judges from the FCC or the SC, one parliamentarian, the attorney general, and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council. That proposal was not accepted in its original form. ...