GILGIT: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as chairman of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council, has appointed three judges to the region’s chief court and extended the tenure of another three for a year.

A Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan notification said on Saturday the premier, acting on the advice of GB’s governor, who is also the council’s vice chairman, appointed district and sessions judge Mushtaq Muhammad and advocates Jahanzeb Khan and Javed Ahmed as chief court judges for a year under Article 84(10) of the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018.

Another notification said the prime minister extended the tenure of Justice Malik Inayatur Rehman, Justice Johar Ali Khan and Justice Raja Shakeel Ahmed for a year with effect from Sept 16.

The three posts filled on Saturday had been lying vacant for many years while the tenure of judges who got extensions had also expired.

The GB chief court — which has equal status as of other high courts of Pakistan and whose decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan — will now have seven judges, including its chief judge, Justice Ali Baig.

The posts of two judges and the chief justice of the GB supreme appellate court are still vacant, with Justice Wazir Shakeel serving as its acting chief justice.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2022