ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: President Pervez Musharraf has approved the names of eight advocates who would be appointed additional judges at the Lahore High Court in a week, official sources told Dawn.

The sources said the names of eight advocates, majority of whom had been working as law officers, had been approved by the president for appointment as additional judges of the Lahore High Court.

A formal notification in this respect would be issued after the return of Principal Law Secretary Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi from Australia.

Those whose appointment has been approved included Bilal Khan, Additional Advocate-General Punjab; Nasim Sabir, Additional Advocate-General Punjab; Sardar Mohammad Aslam, Deputy Attorney-General, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Registrar Lahore High Court; Mohammad Akram Beeto, Sessions Judge Lahore; Muzammil Khan advocate, Chaudhry Ghani advocate from Chakwal and Sheikh Hakim Ali, an advocate from Bahawalpur.

The new appointments would bring the number of LHC judges to 45, still five short of its sanctioned strength.