ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan has summoned a meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to consider the names of additional judges to Lahore High Court (LHC). The meeting will be held on April 18. The 11 additional judges include Justice Erum Sajad Gull, Justice Hafiz Shahid Nadeem Kahloo, Justice Shahid Mubeen, Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem, Justice Mushtaq Ahmad Tarar, Justice Farrukh Gulzar Awan, Justice Raja Shahid Mehmood Abbasi, Justice Aslam Javed Minhas, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudary, Justice Muhammad Sajid Mehmood Sethi and Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar. According to Article 175-A , which draws the procedure of appointment of superior courts’ judges, JCP will propose the names to parliamentary committee following which the president of Pakistan will approve the names while Ministry of Law and Justice will issue the notification. Currently, 53 judges are sitting in the Lahore High Court while the total seats are 60. The tenure of Justice Hafiz Shahid Nadeem Kahloo will end on May 22. Similarly, tenure of ten other judges will be expired on June 8. A commission, under the above said Article after 18th amendment, was formed under the chairmanship of the CJP which comprised the law minister, four senior-most judges, the attorney general of Pakistan, a retired judge and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council. However, the parliamentary committee has not held any meeting to consider JCP proposals since last October due to which the appointment procedure of judges has been criticised by legal fraternity as no new judge has been appointed in the superior courts since December 2015. One permanent seat of SC’s judge is still vacant. Pakistan Bar Council Vice-Chairman Barrister Farogh Naseem expressed reservations about the role of the parliamentary committee in the appointment of the superior court judges. He said that the procedure adopted by the panel is not fair because the composition of the eight-member committee comprising ruling and opposition party was not just. “I challenge the merit of the committee’s composition. Parliamentarians who can play an effective role because of their understanding and experience have not been made its members,” he said.