ISLAMABAD  -  The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday decided to become part of the freshly reconstituted Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) that will appoint judges in the constitutional benches of Supreme Court and high courts.

PTI, being an opposition party, has decided to formally nominate its two members in the commission from both the houses of the parliament, said PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram in an announcement.

He said the decision was taken unanimously by the Political Committee of the PTI, which deliberated on the letter of the Speaker NA Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq seeking nominations for the commission. Earlier, the NA Speaker had sought names from the government and opposition to nominate two members from each side for the formation of the JCP. The PTI secretary information said the PTI decision was being forwarded to the party’s Core Committee and jailed former prime minister Imran Khan for their final approval.

The recently enacted 26th Constitutional Amendment has not only changed the composition of the 13-member JCP but also enhanced its responsibilities by giving it a role to appoint judges in the constitutional benches and evaluate performance of judges of high courts. Four members, two each from the treasury and the opposition, from both the Senate and the National Assembly would be members of the commission for the first time in the country’s history.

Earlier, the JCP had the primary task of appointing judges in the superior judiciary.

Last week, the PTI had boycotted the 12-member special parliamentary committee that finalized the name of Justice Yahya Afridi as the next chief justice of Pakistan. The party was of the view that it would not become part of the process because it did not recognize the approval of the 26th Constitutional Amendment enacted with two-thirds votes of the parliament.