Zardari Approves High Court Judges Appointments

President Asif Ali Zardari has approved new High Court judges appointments, ending a weeks-long delay. The move covers five high courts across Pakistan.

Judges appointed to five high courts

President Zardari approved 10 additional judges for the Lahore High Court. He also approved three judges each for the Sindh, Islamabad and Balochistan high courts.

In addition, he confirmed four additional judges of the Peshawar High Court. He also confirmed one additional judge of the Lahore High Court.

The President’s Office said Zardari signed all relevant summaries on Tuesday. The decision came one day after the Islamabad High Court sought reports from officials.

The court had asked the federal government and Law Ministry about the pending recommendations. It also wanted details about when officials sent the summaries to the president.

The case followed delays in acting on recommendations from the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. Therefore, the issue had sparked a wider constitutional debate.

Delay sparked legal questions

The Judicial Commission recommended the appointments during meetings on July 20 and 21. However, the president had not approved or returned the recommendations with objections.

Legal experts had warned that the dispute could require judicial intervention. They also questioned whether the Constitution sets a deadline for presidential action.

The controversy centred on Article 175A(8), which does not set a clear timeframe. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court had previously ruled that the president could not reject commission nominations.

The commission also recommended extending Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani’s tenure. However, his tenure ended on July 28 before the extension took effect.

Officials had also linked the delay to concerns within the Pakistan Peoples Party. The party’s preferred Sindh nominees failed to win the commission’s backing.

Senator Farooq H Naek had proposed 33 candidates across four high courts. However, commission members reportedly rejected two preferred Sindh nominees.