New Supreme Court judges' oath taking deferred till tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The oath taking of the new judges to the Supreme Court has been deferred till tomorrow (Friday), ARY News reported.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi had to administer oath to six regular and one adhoc judge at the Supreme Court building today.

Sources said that the oath taking ceremony has been postponed owing to delay in the official notification about the new judges of the apex court.

Justice Sarfaraz Doggar has been appointed the Acting Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, who will hold the office until appointment of the regular chief justice of the high court.

Moreover, Justice Junaid Ghaffar has been nominated acting chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC), Justice Ijaz Swati, acting chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and Justice S.M. Ateeq Shah, acting chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

On Monday, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), chaired by CJP Justice Yahya Afridi, approved the appointments of Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Aamer Farooq, Chief Justice Sindh High Court Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Ishtiaq Ibrahim to the apex court, as per a press statement issued after the meeting.

The JCP also elevated Justice Salahuddin Panhwar of Sindh High Court to the Supreme Court.

“The commission, by majority of its total membership nominated the judges for their appointment as judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

The JCP by majority also nominated Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of Islamabad High Court for appointment as the Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the statement added.

Earlier, four Supreme Court judges penned a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, asking him to halt new appointments to the court until the decision on the 26th Amendment case announced.