ISLAMABAD  -  The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice has agreed to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 25 in order to clear the backlog of cases, though opposition parties including PTI and JUI-F opposed it.

During a committee meeting chaired by Senator Farooq H Naek, the bill was presented by Senator Abdul Qadir. He argued that a rise in population and crime rates has led to an overwhelming backlog of cases, often taking decades to resolve.

The meeting agreed to increase the sanctioned strength of apex court judges to 25, including chief justice of Pakistan. Senator Kamran Murtaza pointed out that seats in the high courts remain vacant and noted that Supreme Court proceedings were slow until October 25, although recently the court has been hearing more than 30 cases per day.

Lawmakers from PTI and JUI-F strongly opposed the decision, with PTI Senator Hamid Khan saying that they have strong reservations over such legislation. “Such a method to appoint SC judges is an attack on judicial independence,” he said.

JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza said the legislation was meant to appoint favourite judges in the top court. However, PPP Senator Shahadat Awan emphasised the need to raise the number apex court judges to at least 21.

Senator Anusha Rahman raised financial concerns, questioning why utility bills for Supreme Court judges are covered by the government and why pensions continue to be paid to retired judges.