ISLAMABAD, Feb 13: President Asif Ali Zardari has appointed Chief Justice of Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Amir Hani Muslim of the same court as judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan “with effect from the date they take oath of their office”.

The president also appointed Justice Mushir Alam as the chief justice of the SHC in place of Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, an official handout issued here on Sunday said.

The Judicial Commission (JC), headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, had last month unanimously approved the names of Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Amir Hani Muslim to be elevated as judges in the Supreme Court to complete the sanctioned strength of 17 judges there.

The JC's recommendations were later approved by the Parliamentary Committee (PC). The JC and the PC were established under the Constitution's 18th Amend- ment and reaffirmed under its 19th Amendment.

Justice Osmany has already served as a Supreme Court judge but had to revert back to the SHC to become its chief justice after the July 31 landmark judgment in which the apex court had declared the Nov 3, 2007, state of emergency declared by former president Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional and had asked over 100 superior court judges to quit their posts for taking oath under the Provisional Constitution Order.