ISLAMABAD - Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), at a meeting held here on Saturday with Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the chair, approved 10 new names for their appointments as superior courts’ judges.
According to sources, the commission approved seven names for their appointments as Sindh High Court judges and three names for Balochistan High Court judges. The commission, however, dropped all the three names for their appointments as Islamabad High Court judges.
The commission considered five district and sessions judges, Shaukat Ali Memon, Ms Ashraf Jan, Shahnawaz Tariq, Amir Faisal and Abdul Malik Guddi, and four lawyers, Nazar Akbar, Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar, Zafar Rajpoot and Ijaz Ahmad Sheikh, for their appointments as SHC judges. Later, the commission approved seven names and dropped the names of Amir Faisal and Ijaz Ahmad Sheikh.
The JCP approved the names of Balochistan Advocate General Shakil Ahmad Baloch, Muhammad Ijaz and Muhammad Kamran for their appointments as Balochistan High Court judges. It, however, dropped the names of former Islamabad Bar Association president Haroonur Rasheed, Anees Jilani and Raja Ishtiaq for their appointments as IHC judges.
It has been learnt that the representatives of superior bars have demanded the commission consider the lawyers’ proposed amendments in the JCP Rules 2010. The sources said the CJP has assured them of summoning a special meeting in this regard very soon.
Ephedrine case hearing postponed due to lawyer’s absence: No proceedings took place in ephedrine smuggling case on Saturday as Control of Narcotics Substances Court (CNSC) postponed the hearing in the case till August 17, 2013 due to absence of lawyer of former Secretary Health Khushnoon Akhtare Lashari, an accused and proclaimed offender (PO).
However, in compliance with court orders, Sheikh Ansar Farooq of Danas Pharmaceutical and other accused submitted the details of their assets before the court. The court set August 17 as the date for arguments before the both parties.
Taking up the case, CNSC Special Judge Arshad Mehmood Tabbasum took notice of continuous absence of counsel for Khushnood Lashari and ordered him to face the court on the next date of hearing. The court later deferred the hearing.
On last hearing, the court accepted the plea of Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, the former secretary health he filed for defreezing his assets, and issued notices to Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to present the record of the case.