Special committee meeting for appointment of next CJP postponed

ISLAMABAD: The first session of the special parliamentary committee, set up for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of Pakistan, has been postponed to 8pm after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Sunni Ittehad Council member skipped the meeting.

Rana Ansar from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Kamran Murtaza from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the federal law secretary and nominees from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) showed up at Committee Room No 5 to attend the session.

However, no member from the PTI and the Sunni Ittehad Council attended the session.

During the session, the law secretary presented the names and profiles of the three most senior judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi. Committee members reviewed each judge’s profile in turn.

Due to the absence of the PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council members, the meeting was postponed until 8pm, to allow time to convince them to attend.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar noted that the first session for the chief justice’s nomination was held with the attendance of nine committee members. He said that the committee would continue its proceedings in accordance with the Constitution, ensuring that the democratic process remains intact.

Sources said the special parliamentary committee is expected to finalize the nomination of the new chief justice by tonight.

Procedure for Judges’ Credentials Finalized

Sources said that the parliamentary committee has finalised the procedure for presenting the credentials of the three most senior judges for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of Pakistan.

According to sources, the federal law secretary will present the complete profiles of the judges, and the committee will nominate the new chief justice.

Earlier, the Supreme Court Registrar, acting on behalf of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, submitted the names of three judges to the special parliamentary committee.

This procedure was carried out following the approval of the 26th Constitutional Amendment bill, which mandates the selection of the new chief justice from among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.