JCP ‘approves’ appointment of two ad-hoc judges to SC

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has reportedly approved the appointment of Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice (retd) Mazhar Miankhel as ad-hoc judges to the Supreme Court (SC).

Sources privy to the development said that the Judicial Commission meeting, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, considered the proposals for the appointment of ad hoc judges and approved two names for the roles with the majority of votes.

The sources said that the apex court’s judge Justice Munib Akhtar opposed the appointment of Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood as an ad-hoc judge.

Following Justice Munib Akhtar’s disagreement, the name of Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood was approved for the ad-hoc role with a majority of 8-1.

Besides these two former judges, the names of Justice (retd) Mushir Alam and Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar were also being considered for the ad-hoc role before they declined the offer.

Justice Alam retired from the Supreme Court on Aug 21, 2021; Justice Baqar, who served as the Sindh chief minister during the last caretaker set-up, retired on April 4, 2022; Justice Miankhel retired on July 13, 2022; and Justice Masood on March 10, 2024.