meeting between representatives from Sindh High Court (SHC) and the provincial government on Saturday regarding the appointment of judges in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) in Sindh ended without any positive results. Reliable sources in the Sindh Home Department told Pakistan Today that the meeting held in the SHC premises was attended by Chief Justice Mushir Alam, Registrar Abdul Rasool Memon, Member Inspection Team-1 (MIT-1) Abdul Malik Gaddi, Member Inspection Team-II (MIT-II) Farooq Ahmed Channa, acting Home secretary Riazuddin, Law Secretary Ghulam Nabi Shah and Sindh Prosecutor General Shahdat Awan.
At the meeting, Alam told the government representatives to immediately appoint the judges recommended by Usmani in the ATCs. The government representatives had brought along a list of 12 candidates but a majority of them were lawyers belonging to the Peoples Lawyers Forum (PLF) and only two session judges. Rejecting the proposal, the high court representatives asked the Home Secretary to contact the Sindh chief minister for the immediate appointment of those earlier recommended by the SHC. The list from the government’s side included Sindh Bar Council member and PLF- Hyderabad office-bearer Fazal Qadir Memon, Malir Bar Association President and PLF leader Ashraf Samon, PLF-Sukkur’s Saleem Jaiser, Feroze Ahmed Bhatti, session judge Basheer Ahmed Khoso and two retired session judges Khalida Yasmin and Syed Hasan Shah Bukhari.
Seven out of eleven posts for ATC judges are vacant in the Sindh province while three ATCs in Karachi are non-functional due to the absence of judges. There are 1,029 cases pending in ATCs of the province while more than 200 cases are pending in the Karachi division. Former SHC Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani had sent a list recommending some on-duty and retired session judges for the posts, but despite the passage of at least three months, the Sindh government had not taken any action in this regard. Those recommended by the former SHC chief justice for ATC judges were Larkana District Judge Basheer Ahmed Khoso, Thatta District Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon, District Judge Shahid Shafiq and retired district judge Khalid Yaseen.
