ISLAMABAD - Judicial Commission of Pakistan on Thursday recommended one year extension in the job of seven Lahore High Court’s additional judges.

The JCP meeting was held in chair of Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to consider the confirmation of 14 additional judges of the Lahore High Court.

One year’s job tenure of 14 additional judges was going to end on November 26. Sources said that the commission has dropped names of Justice Muhammad Bashir Paracha, Justice Abdul Sattar, Justice Habib Ullah Amir, Justice Mudassir Khalid Abbasi, Justice Ahmad Raza Gilani, Justice Muhammad Ali and Justice Abdul Rahman Aurangzeb.

The judges who are given one year extension are Justice Mujahid Mustaqeem Ahmed, Justice Tariq Iftikhar Ahmad, Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, Justice Jawad Hassan, Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabir and Justice Ch. Abdul Aziz.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Vice-Chairman and Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry, Chairman, Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council expressed grave concern and disapproval on Thursday’s proceedings of the JCP. They said that views and recommendations of representatives of the Bar were altogether ignored and unfortunately reflects favoritism and nepotism.

They have deplored that the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court advanced his views and recommendations during proceedings of the meeting entirely different to his written proposals he had earlier communicated to the commission.

They said that the JCP was established with very high hopes of appointing judges to superior courts purely on merit and competency to enhance prestige of the judiciary but it has been observed that the very object of creation of the JCP has been defeated as it has utterly failed to ensure appointments of really competent, honest and upright judges and thus has shaken the confidence of people in the system of dispensation of justice.

It is a matter of disappointment that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan has become a consortium of judges having majority in decision-making and so is acting according to their wishes to accommodate their near and dear ones, thus compromising the transparent and judicious process of appointment of judges, they added.

They particularly were critical about failure of the Judicial Commission to consider and adopt recommendations of the Pakistan Bar Council for amendments in the Judicial Commission of Rules, 2010, which were proposed by the council way back in 2014, for enhancing the role of the representatives of the Bar in the process of appointment of judges. The Pakistan Bar Council in consultation with other Bar Councils will, therefore, consider as to how they will deal with the situation.