• 12-member committee has 4 PML-N lawmakers, 3 each from PTI and PPP, one each from MQM-P, JUI-F
• Zardari signs 26th amendment into law; Justice Isa likely to reconstitute JCP before retirement

ISLAMABAD: After President Asif Ali Zardari signed the 26th Constitutional Amendment into law on Monday, a committee of parliamentarians will — for the first time — meet to nominate the new chief justice today (Tuesday).

The 12-member committee was notified by the National Assembly Secretariat in light of the new amendment to the Constitution, which empowers a special parliamentary panel to select the new CJP from amongst a panel of three of the senior-most judges of the SC, in contrast to the previous practice where the senior-most judge would automatically become CJP.

According to the notification issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Monday, “In terms of clause (3B) of Article 175A of the Constitution… the speaker (of) the National Assembly has been pleased to notify the special parliamentary committee consisting of the following members as per nomination by the respective parliamentary leaders based on their strength in Majlis-i-Shoora (parliament) for the nomination of the Chief Justice of Pakistan under clause 3 of Article 175A…”

The panel includes eight MNAs and four senators from the treasury and the opposition benches. PML-N leaders Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar; PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Senator Farooq H. Naik; PTI’s Gohar Ali Khan, Senator Ali Zafar, SIC’s Hamid Raza, JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza and MQM-P MNA Rana Ansar are part of the committee. This committee will meet today and send one of three names — Justice Man­soor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Yahya Afridi — to the premier.

The lawmakers’ names were shared after the NA Secretariat wrote to the heads of all parliamentary parties, seeking nominations of their representatives for the formation of the 12-member parliamentary committee that will appoint the top judge.

The constitutional amendment, which became law on Monday, also envisages changes to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) with the inclusion of lawmakers in the commission. Incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa, who is going to retire on Oct 25, is expected to reconstitute the JCP afresh before his retirement.

The JCP has also been changed under the new law in which the number of SC judges in the commission has been reduced and four parliamentarians — two senators and two MNAs — added to it.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister’s Office sent advice to President Zardari for his assent to the amendment. The National Assembly Secretariat notification published in the Gazette on Monday said the act with 27 clauses “received the assent of the President.

The bill was finally passed in the session of the Senate and the National Assembly over the weekend. The NA session continued for two consecutive days (Saturday and Sunday as the bill was passed at about 5:30am.

Following the passage of the bill in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivered a speech congratulating the parliament for the “historic achievement”.

“This is a historic day. The 26th Constitutional Amendment is not just an amendment but another magnificent example of national solidarity and unity. Today a new dawn will usher in and a new sun will rise which will brighten the whole country,” the prime minister said.

PM Shehbaz said that the new constitutional amendment would also help end the palatial conspiracies to oust the governments and remove the prime ministers, besides ensuring the riddance from the verdicts like Reko Diq which had cost the country billions of dollars.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2024