PESHAWAR, July 20: Four additional judges of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) took oath of their offices here on Friday, raising the number of judges in the court to 14, which is still six short of the sanctioned strength of 20.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan administered oath to the four judges, including Mrs Justice Irshad Qaiser, Justice Shahjehan Khan Akhundzada, Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani.

Judges of the high court and subordinate judiciary attended the oath-taking ceremony besides members of the bar.

President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed the four judges on July 20. They were recommended for appointment by the Judicial Commission, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The commission’s recommendations were referred to the concerned parliamentary committee, which attained finality as the committee could not meet in the prescribed 14 days.

Two of these judges, Mrs Justice Qaiser and Justice Shahjehan, belong to subordinate judiciary, whereas the other two are from the bar. Mrs Justice Qaiser became the second woman judge of the PHC. Earlier, Justice Khalida Rachied was appointed an additional judge in 1994 and subsequently confirmed as permanent judge.