The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Friday approved for one year the appointment of two former Supreme Court judges—Justices (retd.) Tariq Masood and Mazhar Alam Miankhel—as ad hoc judges to the apex court with an aim to clear a backlog of pending cases.
According to data provided by the Supreme Court, it currently has 58,000 pending cases before it, with 10,000 of these cases being of a criminal nature.
Chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the JCP meeting was convened specifically to debate the appointment of retired judges to the Supreme Court. Earlier, the CJP had nominated four judges for the post, but two—Justices (retd.) Mushir Alam and Maqbool Baqar—had declined the offer for “personal” reasons. Justice (retd.) Miankhel had initially accepted the offer but subsequently declined it, with his approval subject to seeking confirmation that he was willing to reconsider.
Reportedly, three judges—Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, Yahya Afridi—opposed the appointment of Justice (retd.) Miankhel on the basis of his refusal, but a majority of six approved it, saying he could now choose to either accept the offer or reject it.
Justice (retd.) Masood’s appointment, meanwhile, was approved by a 8-1 majority, with Justice Akhtar the sole dissenting voice.
Despite being in accordance with law, the appointment of ad hoc judges to the Supreme Court was met with criticism, particularly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its affiliated groups, who had alleged it was aimed at hampering judicial independence. In an open letter addressed to all members of the JCP, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan had expressed “great concern” over the proposal, indicating his party—the PTI—believed it sought to impact the balance of opinions against it.
On the contrary, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, who is also a member of the JCP, had supported the measure, stressing it was in line with the Constitution.