The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has approved the appointment of nine judges for constitutional benches in the Sindh High Court (SHC) with a majority vote of 11 to 4.
The decision was made during the JCP’s third meeting under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi at the Supreme Court in Islamabad. The sole agenda of the meeting was the establishment of constitutional benches in the SHC.
“After extensive and thoughtful deliberations, the commission approved the formation of constitutional benches in the SHC and finalized nine judges for a two-month term by a majority vote of 11 to 4,” said a press release from the Supreme Court.
Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha of the SHC was appointed as the head of the constitutional benches and chairperson of a three-member constitutional committee tasked with overseeing the formation of the benches.
However, the decision faced opposition from senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, and SHC Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui. Notably, CJP Afridi abstained from voting on the matter.
The nine selected judges for the constitutional benches are Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar, Justice Omar Sial, Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed, Justice Abdul Mobeen Lakho, Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi, Justice Sana Akram Minhas, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, Justice Arbab Ali Hakro, and Justice KK Agha.
