Parliamentary panel approves Justice Minallah's appointment as IHC CJ

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges (PCAJ) on Thursday approved the appointment of Justice Athar Minallah as the new chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan chaired a meeting of the committee today during which an approval for Justice Minallah’s appointment as IHC CJ was given.

PPP’s Farooq H Naek and Raja Pervez Ashraf, PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah and Javed Abbasi, PTI’s Naumar Wazir and Sarfaraz Bugti from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) were also in attendance attended the meeting.

Earlier, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar convened a meeting of the JCP in his capacity as its chairman on November 1 to consider and approve the appointment of Justice Athar Minallah as new chief justice of the IHC.

The incumbent chief justice of the IHC, Justice Muhammad Anwar Kasi, is set to retire on November 27.

Justice Minalla, who hails from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, is the judge who authored the ruling suspending the conviction of Sharif family members in the Avenfield properties case.

It may be mentioned here that Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, who was the senior puisne judge of the high court, was removed by the SJC in a case pertaining professional misconduct.

On Oct 11, President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi removed Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui from his post in the light of a recommendation by the Supreme Judicial Council.