ISLAMABAD – The Judicial Commission of Pakistan has decided to appoint Justice S.M. Attique Shah as the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
A meeting of the Judicial Commission is being held under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, in which the name for the permanent chief justice of the PHC was selected.
Reports said the names of Justice Attique Shah, Justice Ejaz Anwar, and Justice Arshad Ali from the Peshawar High Court were reviewed during the meeting.
Following the deliberations, the Judicial Commission decided to appoint Justice Attique Shah as the PHC chief justice.
However, the judicial commission’s meeting is underway to approve the names of chief justices of Islamabad, Balochistan and Sindh high courts.
The Judicial Commission typically consists of 13 permanent members; however, when considering appointments for provincial high court chief justices, the membership increases to 16. A minimum of nine affirmative votes is necessary to approve a candidate.
This expanded body includes the Chief Justice of Pakistan, four justices from the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, two representatives from the federal government, and two from the opposition. Legal community representation is ensured through the inclusion of Ahsan Bhoon, while Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, nominated by the Speaker of the National Assembly, also takes part in the process.
For discussions specific to provincial high court chief justice appointments, additional members include the provincial law minister, a representative from the relevant high court’s bar association, and a retired judge from that high court.
