President Zardari approves appointment of additional judges to five high courts

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the appointment of additional judges to several high courts, while also confirming some additional judges as permanent members of the judiciary.

According to a statement issued by the President’s House, President Zardari approved the appointment of additional judges to the Lahore, Sindh, Peshawar, Islamabad and Balochistan high courts.

The president also approved the confirmation of certain additional judges of the Lahore and Sindh high courts as permanent judges.

Separately, President Zardari signed a summary seeking to bring the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges on a par with those of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court.

He also approved amendments to the 1997 order governing leave, pensions and other privileges of high court judges.

In another decision, the president approved the appointment of Haroon Akhtar as adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on industries and production.

The latest approvals follow recommendations made by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) during its meetings held on July 20 and 21.

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The commission had recommended the appointment of 19 additional judges, confirmation of five additional judges as permanent judges and an extension for one judge.

The approvals come after a petition was filed before the Islamabad High Court challenging the delay in signing the summaries concerning the judicial appointments.

With President Zardari now approving the recommendations, the issue surrounding the appointments is expected to be resolved, potentially rendering the pending proceedings before the Islamabad High Court ineffective.