Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb appointed as permanent SC judge

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday approved the appointment of Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb as a permanent judge of the Supreme Court, months after he had been inducted into the apex court in an ad hoc capacity.

The session, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, was the commission’s first since the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment and the creation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). Justice Aurangzeb had earlier been elevated from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) before receiving a temporary posting to the Supreme Court in February.

During the meeting, the JCP also endorsed the elevation of Justice Zafara Ahmed Rajput as chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Kamran Mullahkhail as chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

The commission reviewed candidates for the SHC’s top judicial post from among its three senior-most judges, Justices Rajput, Muhammad Iqbal Kalohoro, and Mahmood A Khan. A similar process was followed for the BHC, where Justices Mullahkhail, Iqbal Ahmed Kasi, and Shaukat Ali Rakhshani were considered.

Recent changes brought about by the 27th Amendment, coupled with the appointment of four Supreme Court judges to the newly formed FCC, Justices Aminuddin Khan, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Aamer Farooq, and Ali Baqar Najafi; as well as the resignations of Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah, have reduced the Supreme Court’s total strength from 24 to 18 judges.

Tuesday’s meeting was attended by a wide range of judicial and government representatives, including FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamer Farooq, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Pakistan Bar Council nominee Ahsan Bhoon. Parliamentarians Farooq Hamid Naek, Syed Ali Zafar, Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, and Gohar Ali Khan were also present.

Following the constitutional reforms, several key bodies underwent restructuring. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail joined both the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Practice and Procedure Committee, while FCC’s Justice Aamer Farooq became a member of the JCP.

Among these statutory bodies, the SJC remains the highest forum for judicial accountability, the Practice and Procedure Committee oversees bench formation and case scheduling, and the JCP continues to manage appointments across the superior judiciary.