PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) on Wednesday declared that the recent nominations for appointment of judges in the high court by the judicial commission was devoid of merit and therefore, it called upon the parliamentary committee not to endorse them and return them the commission for reconsideration.

The declaration was made during a meeting of the PHCBA general body, where PHCBA president Essa Khan, secretary general Ayaz Khan, Abdul Lateef Afridi, Peshawar District Bar Association president Raza Khan, Maulana Shamsul Haq, Muhim Afridi, Iftikhar Khan, Yar Said Khan and Khanzada Khan were noted participants.

The meeting through a unanimously adopted resolution turned down the nominations made by the judicial commission and demanded their reconsideration.

It said lawyers would take all possible steps for their demands.

The PHCBA also set up a protest camp in front of the high court’s building.

The association has convened a meeting of the presidents and general secretaries of all the district bar associations in the province on Thursday for evolving future course of action over the issue.

The judicial commission in its meeting, chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Nasirul Mulk had on Oct 17 recommended four names for appointment as additional judges of the PHC. These names are referred to the Parliamentary Committee which after approval would be forwarded to the president of Pakistan for final notification.

The judicial commission has nominated three lawyers – Younas Taheem, Ghazanfar Khan and Haider Ali - and senior district and sessions judge Qalandar Ali Khan, as judges for the high court.

During the PHCBA general body meeting, the speakers said the lawyers’ movement was launched to uphold the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution and that the movement was a continuous process.

They expressed reservations over the nominations for high court and asked the parliamentary committee to reject them and send them back to the commission for review.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014