Summary Chief Justice Yahya Afridi plans to appoint three High Court judges as acting Supreme Court judges to address vacancies and expedite cases.
LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) - Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi has decided to appoint three high court judges as acting judges of the Supreme Court to facilitate the timely disposal of pending cases and expedite judicial proceedings.
The proposed appointments include two judges from the Lahore High Court and one from the Peshawar High Court.
According to sources within the Supreme Court, the judges proposed for appointment are Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Shahbaz Rizvi of the Lahore High Court, and Justice Ijaz Anwar of the Peshawar High Court.
A meeting of the Judicial Commission, chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, is expected to be convened later this month to consider the proposed appointments.
The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 34 judges. However, following the retirement of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, the number of vacant positions in the apex court has fallen to 16.
The shortage of judges has contributed to an increased caseload, making the timely disposal of pending cases increasingly difficult.
Sources said Chief Justice Yahya Afridi intends to appoint the three High Court judges as acting Supreme Court judges to address the shortage and help clear the backlog of cases.
In this connection, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi hosted a dinner for judges of the Peshawar High Court. Judges posted at the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court, as well as Justice Syed Shahbaz Rizvi, who heads the Multan Bench, were also invited.
Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf, Justice Raza Qureshi, Justice Syed Farhad Ali Shah and several other judges also attended the dinner.
Further developments regarding the proposed appointments are expected following the Judicial Commission's meeting.
