By deferring the appointment of two ad hoc judges, the Pakistan Judicial Commission has set a precedent that should be applicable to all such moves in the future. It will be recalled that 17 sitting judges of the Supreme Court had passed a unanimous resolution recommending the ad hoc appointment of Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramday and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafri. Its passage, though, was bitterly criticised by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Council (SCBC), and later their leaderships held a meeting with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to explain their point of view. When the issue came before the Judicial Commission for review, some of the participants led by Federal Law Minister Babur Awan and nominee of the PCB Dr Khalid Ranjha strongly opposed the proposed appointments. The basic argument was that on one hand, the SC was bent upon undoing the appointments of retired bureaucrats, while on the other, it was keen to re-appoint two retiring judges. This was viewed as double standard and thus considered unacceptable. The argument put forward by the PBC and SCBC was that if additional judges were required to deal with the backlog of cases, the existing law should be amended and two fresh judges appointed. This stance was based on logic and was within the constitutional provisions after the 19th Amendment. It is obligatory on SC to honour them and avoid making the issue a prestige question. The PJC decision to defer the matter is a welcome sign and one can hope that it would be settled with understanding by all stakeholders. At the same time, the two concerned judges should avoid becoming controversial and themselves decline to accept the appointments.