The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved on Thursday names of two retired judges for reappointment in the apex court for a year on ad-hoc basis.
The approval comes after a meeting of the JCP called by Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali regarding the appointment of two ad-hoc judges in the Supreme Court (SC).
The JCP accorded the approval for reappointment of Justice (r) Tariq Pervez and Justice (r) Khilji Arif Hussain after majority of its members voted in their favour.
During the meeting, Pakistan Bar Council representative Yasin Azad gave dissenting views over the reappointment as there was a consistent stance of the superior bars against appointment of judges on ad-hoc basis. However, a majority of the commission’s members favoured the reappointment, the sources added.
The reappointment of both the judges has been proposed under Article 182 of the Constitution, which says the CJP can, with the president’s approval, appoint a former judge if it is necessary to increase the quorum of judges of the apex court.
Justice (r) Pervez, who reached superannuation in February 2013, is currently a member of the commission, which recommends the names of superior court judges. Before his current assignment, he served as the caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Similarly, Justice (r) Khilji, who retired in April 2014, was part of the bench that heard the Arsalan Iftikhar case in the SC. The last time an ad-hoc judge was appointed was 2011 when justice (r) Khalilur Rehman Ramday was appointed.
Meanwhile, sources added, the JCP also approved the nomination of lawyers for their appointment as additional judges in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Earlier, the IHC chief justice had recommended Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Mian Gul Hassan Orangzaib for the said posts.
