ISLAMABAD: The Ju­­dicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Friday recommended the elevation of Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court Naeem Akhtar Afghan as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the JCP also recommended the elevation of Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan as the new Chief Justice of the Lah­ore High Court, replacing the incumbent, Muham­m­­ad Ameer Bhatti, who is set to retire on March 7, 2024.

Both unanimous recommendations have been sent to the parliamentary committee of the National As­­sembly for final approval.

Meanwhile, members of the commission, namely Justice Sardar Tariq Ma­­s­ood, Justice Yayha Afridi, Justice (retd) Manzoor Malik, and the representative of the Pakistan Bar Council, Akhtar Hussain, objected to granting a second extension to Justice Khadim Hussain M. Sheikh of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) for another three years.

However, they unanimously approved the elevation of District and Ses­sions Judge Amir Muham­mad Khan to the FSC.

During the proceedings, Akhtar Hussain again em­­phasised the need to call a meeting of the Judicial Commis- sion Rules Com­m­ittee to bring amendments to the rules.

However, CJP assured that the meeting will be called soon.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2024