ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee tasked with confirming appointments of superior court judges has approved elevation of Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel to the Supreme Court and endorsed appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, the position to be vacated by the former.

Justice Miankhel, the incumbent chief justice of the PHC, was head of the three-judge special court seized with the high treason trial of former president retired General Pervez Musharraf. After his elevation to the apex court, the special court will remain inactive until another judge is appointed to the position falling vacant.

The meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Judges’ Appointment in superior courts was held on Wednesday in the Parliament House and was presided over by MNA Syed Naveed Qamar. The other parliamentarians who attended the meeting were Senators Raja Zafar-ul-Haq and Muhammad Javed Abbasi and MNAs Mahmood Bashir Virk and Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The committee considered the matter in view of the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and after detailed deliberations confirmed the appointment of Justice Miankhel as a judge of the apex court and that of Justice Afridi as chief justice of the PHC.

Published in Dawn December 22nd, 2016