A meeting of the Judicial Commission is underway to appoint permanent Chief Justices of High Courts, in which it has been decided to appoint Justice S.M. Atiq Shah as Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, Justice Rozi Khan as Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court, and Justice Junaid Ghaffar as Chief Justice of Sindh High Court.
According to sources, the Judicial Commission meeting is being held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, to appoint permanent Chief Justices for the Sindh, Balochistan, Peshawar, and Islamabad High Courts, where the names of the three senior-most judges of each High Court are being considered.
For the post of Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, the names under consideration include Justice Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Mohsin Kayani, and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb. For the Sindh High Court, the commission considered Justice Junaid Ghaffar, Justice Zafar Rajput, and Justice Iqbal Kalhoro, and approved the name of Justice Junaid Ghaffar.
For the Balochistan High Court, the names considered were Justice Rozi Khan Barrech, Justice Kamran Malakhail, and Justice Iqbal Kasi, and the commission approved the name of Justice Rozi Khan Barrech. For the Peshawar High Court, the names considered were Justice Ejaz Anwar, Justice Atiq Shah, and Justice Arshad Ali, and the commission approved the name of Justice Atiq Shah.
It is worth noting that the Judicial Commission has 13 permanent members; however, for appointing a High Court Chief Justice, the commission includes 16 members, and a majority of at least 9 members is required for the appointment.
The Judicial Commission includes the Chief Justice of Pakistan, four judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, two government members, and two opposition members.
Additionally, the Pakistan Bar is represented by Ahsan Bhoon, while Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, nominated by the Speaker of the National Assembly, is also participating. For provincial Chief Justices, the provincial Law Minister, a representative of the High Court Bar, and a former High Court judge are also included.
