ISLAMABAD: Senior Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa has recommended the names of Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court Ahmed Ali M Shaikh and Acting Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Musarrat Hilali for elevation to the apex court.
Justice Isa made these recommendations in a letter to all members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), which is a constitutional body responsible for appointing judges to the superior courts including high courts, Federal Shariat Court and Supreme Court.
The JCP is headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and includes senior judges, a former chief justice or Supreme Court judge, attorney general, law minister, and a senior advocate selected by the Pakistan Bar Council.
Justice Isa has called for a JCP meeting to be convened soon to decide on the appointments. Currently, two positions in the Supreme Court are vacant, and the JCP meeting will consider the names of the two judges based on seniority.
It is worth noting that the JCP had previously recommended Justice Shaikh’s appointment as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court in 2021, but he declined the appointment. Justice Shaikh was elevated to the SHC Chief Justice on 15 March, 2017. Justice Hilali, on the other hand, took the oath as the Acting Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court on April 1, 2023, and is set to become the PHC’s first female Chief Justice after being recommended for regular appointment. A parliamentary committee meeting is scheduled to be held on May 4 to discuss her appointment.
