Names sought for special committee to appoint next chief justice

ISLAMABAD: Following the approval of the 26th Constitutional Amendment bill, the process to form a 12-member special parliamentary committee for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of Pakistan has begun.

According to sources, the National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has requested the parliamentary leaders to submit names of their members for the committee.

The committee will consist of eight members from the National Assembly and four from the Senate. It will be responsible for selecting the Chief Justice of Pakistan from a panel of three judges.

Three days prior to the retirement of the current chief justice, a panel of three senior judges will be submitted to the National Assembly Speaker, who will then forward this panel to the committee for the final appointment of the chief justice.

A proportional representation formula has been devised for the special committee, which allots one seat to a political party in the committee for every 39 members of the National Assembly. In the Senate, one seat will be given to each party for every 21 members.

Under this formula, the PML-N is expected to get four seats on the special committee, with three members from the National Assembly and one from the Senate.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is likely to get three seats, with two from the National Assembly and one from the Senate.

Similarly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council are also expected to get seats in the committee. The Sunni Ittehad Council is likely to get two members from the National Assembly, while PTI will get one member from the Senate.

The MQM and JUI-F are expected to get one seat each in the special committee.

The MQM will have one member from the National Assembly, while JUI-F is expected to secure a seat from the Senate. Additionally, JUI-F may get one seat from the government’s special quota.

The special parliamentary committee will be formed under Article 175A, sub-section 3(A), clause 1 and 2.

PTI to Submit Names to Speaker

Sources said that the PTI leadership has decided to be part of the special committee and will forward their names to the NA speaker. The PTI is expected to send the names today, with consultations currently under way within the party.

The PTI is considering several names for the special committee. Three names will be sent, with Senator Ali Zafar being considered from the Senate and Asad Qaiser and Sher Afzal Marwat from the National Assembly. The names of Barrister Gohar and Umair Niazi are also under consideration.

JUI-F and PML-N Members Nominated

The JUI-F has nominated Senator Kamran Murtaza as its member for the special committee, with JUI-F’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman, submitting Ali Zafar’s name to the Senate Secretariat.

The PML-N’s parliamentary leader in the Senate has nominated Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar to the 12-member special parliamentary committee. The nomination was endorsed by Senator Irfan Siddiqui.

The special parliamentary committee for the appointment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan is expected to be formed today, with the first important meeting likely to be held tomorrow.

The names of senior-most judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, and Justice Yahya Afridi will be considered for the new chief justice. The committee will make its decision by a two-thirds majority.