All but three new judges sworn in after Zardari’s nod
• Three SHC additional judges to take oath today
• Four permanent judges of PHC and one of LHC also administered oath
• Equalisation of Supreme Court and FCC judges’ perks green-lit
• President approves Haroon Akhtar’s appointment as adviser to PM, okays pending bills
ISLAMABAD: Sixteen of the 19 additional judges of the four high courts across the country were sworn in on Tuesday within hours after President Asif Ali Zardari assented to their appointments, ending a weeks-long deadlock between the Presidency and the PML-N government over the judicial appointments.
A permanent judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and four Peshawar High Court (PHC) permanent judges also took their oath the same day after the president approved their confirmations.
Of the 19 additional judges, 10 were appointed to the LHC and three each to the Islamabad, Balochistan and Sindh high courts. The new appointments were made for one year from the date of their oath.
While all the newly appointed judges took oath of their offices, the three additional judges of the SHC will be sworn in on Wednesday.
The appointments of additional judges and confirmation of permanent judges had been pending since July 20 and July 21, when the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) — the body responsible for appointing judges to the superior judiciary — recommended them.
After approval of the summary based on the JCP recommendations and forwarded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to the Presidency, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued notifications.
The oath-taking ceremony for the additional judges, scheduled for July 27, was indefinitely postponed after President Zardari neither approved the summary nor returned it for reconsideration. The government maintained there was no legal justification for the delay.
The president’s legal team had raised objections to the JCP proceedings, noting that nearly all PPP nominees were rejected and that some recommended candidates had criminal records.
The delay prompted the federal government to consider invoking Article 48(1) of the Constitution to bypass presidential approval, arguing that the president was required to act on the summary within a fortnight, sources said.
However, officials later maintained that, with the matter sub judice, notifications could not be issued. Sources said the government’s legal team planned to seek an “out-of-court” settlement with the Presidency.
The approvals followed a meeting between the two legal teams, with sources describing the matter as “on its way to resolution”. Another meeting was expected in the coming days.
The delay had created practical difficulties for the high courts. Four PHC additional judges whose confirmation had been recommended by the JCP ceased to hold office after their terms expired on August 4.
Similarly, the term of SHC Additional Judge Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani expired on July 29 after completion of his six-month extension.
To address the issue, the law ministry’s notifications said the four PHC judges’ appointments would take effect from July 20, the date of the JCP recommendations. Justice Shahani’s term was also extended for six months from July 29.
The judges
The JCP had recommended 19 additional judges — 10 for the LHC and three each for the IHC, SHC and BHC. Five additional judges were also confirmed as permanent, while the term of SHC Additional Judge Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani was extended by six months.
The LHC nominees were Shireen Imran, Aamir Ajam Malik, Asad Ali Bajwa, Barrister Muhammad Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema, Ghulam Sarwar Nihung, Khalid Ibn-i-Aziz, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Zahid, Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz, Munawar Iqbal Duggal and Syed Farhad Ali Shah.
The SHC nominees were Muhammad Humayon Khan, District and Sessions Judge Suresh Kumar and Dr Shah Nawaz Memon, while the IHC nominees were District and Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, Ayyaz Shaukat and Umair Majeed Malik.
The BHC nominees were District and Sessions Judges Allah Dad Roshan and Abdul Qayyum Lehri and Muhammad Rauf Atta.
The four PHC additional judges confirmed as permanent were Justices Farah Jamshed, Inamullah Khan, Sabitullah Khan and Aurangzeb. LHC Additional Judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa was also confirmed as a permanent judge.
IHC plea
The matter had also been sub judice before the IHC, where advocate Luqman Zafar Chaudhary had challenged the delay in notifying the appointments.
On Tuesday, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir adjourned the petition after counsel Zahid Asif Chaudhry requested the court to keep it pending until the law ministry issued a formal notification.
Other approvals
President Zardari also approved the equalisation of the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges with those of Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) judges.
He also approved amendments to the 1997 order concerning the leave, pensions and privileges of high court judges, and assented to the appointment of Haroon Akhtar as adviser to the prime minister on industries and production.
He also approved five summaries, including three bills, including the Export-Import Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2026, the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) (Amendment) Bill 2026, and the Federal Board of Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2026.
Oath-taking
Ten additional LHC judges took oath at a ceremony administered by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum. Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa also took oath as a permanent judge after completing his probationary period.
With the new appointments, 10 vacancies remain against the LHC’s sanctioned strength of 60 judges. The number will rise to 11 next week following the retirement of Justice Shahid Karim.
CJ Muhammad Kamran Khan Malakhail administered the oath to three new BHC additional judges — Muhammad Rauf Atta, Allah Dad Roshan and Abdul Qayyum Lehri — at a ceremony attended by judges, lawyers and judicial officers.
The three new SHC additional judges — Muhammad Humayon Khan, District Judge Suresh Kumar and Dr Shah Nawaz Memon — will take oath at the main SHC building on Wednesday (today). Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput will administer the oath.
With input from Wajih Ahmed Sheikh in Lahore, Saleem Shahid in Quetta and Ishaq Tanoli in Karachi
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026
