President Asif Zardari Approves High Court Judge Appointments

President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the appointment of additional judges to several high courts across Pakistan.

The appointments have been approved for the Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan, Islamabad and Peshawar high courts. The president has also approved the confirmation of some additional judges of the Sindh High Court and Lahore High Court as permanent judges.

In another decision, President Zardari approved changes to the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges. The changes will bring their benefits in line with those available to judges of the Federal Constitutional Court.

He also approved amendments to the 1997 order covering leave, pensions and other privileges for high court judges.

Separately, Haroon Akhtar has been approved for appointment as the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Industries and Production.

The decisions followed recommendations made by the Judicial Commission during its meetings on July 20 and 21. The commission had recommended 19 additional judges, the confirmation of five additional judges as permanent judges, and an extension for one judge.

The approvals came a day after the Islamabad High Court issued notices to the president and prime minister over a delay in approving a summary related to the appointment of new judges.

The court also issued a notice to the Ministry of Law and sought a response by Tuesday. It questioned where the summary was pending and why the approval had been delayed.

During the hearing, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir expressed dissatisfaction with the federal government’s handling of the matter. He asked officials about the status of the appointments and confirmations of judges in the higher judiciary.

The judge also noted that the Judicial Commission had already approved the confirmation of judges of the Sindh and Peshawar high courts, but those matters had remained pending.