KARACHI: President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday approved the elevation of three high court judges to the Supreme Court (SC), Dawn.com reported.

Under Article 175A of the Constitution, he approved outgoing Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice Athar Minallah, Sindh High Court Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Waheed to the apex court, a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat, Islamabad, said.

President Alvi also approved Justice Aamer Farooq’s appointment as the IHC chief justice.

On Monday, the Parliamentary Committee on the Appointment of Judges had approved the elevation of Justice Waheed and Justice Rizvi to the Supreme Court.

JCP, parliamentary body already okayed nominations

The eight-member panel, headed by Senator Farooq H. Naek, had examined the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) recommendations for elevating the two judges.

The committee had on Nov 4 approved the JCP’s recommendations for the promotion of Justice Minallah to the SC and Justice Farooq as the IHC chief justice, respectively. However, it had deferred the consideration of the names of Justice Waheed and Justice Rizvi for its meeting slated for Nov 10.

Earlier on Nov 2, the committee had decided to consider the names on Nov 10. However, it gave the nod for the elevation of Justice Minallah on Nov 4 at an unscheduled meeting and cleared Justice Waheed and Justice Rizvi on Monday at yet another unscheduled meeting.

On Oct 24, the JCP after a prolonged meeting of three-and-a-half hours had unanimously approved the promotion of Justice Minallah. It gave a divided nod to Justice Waheed and Justice Rizvi — both fourth on the seniority list of their respective courts — with a majority of five to four votes, but dropped outright the suggestion about the SHC’s Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2022