Daily Times

In a major development, the federal government has decided to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, sources said.

Sources said that the government has decided to amend the 1997 Act to raise the strength of judges to 23, including the Chief Justice. Sources further revealed that the amendment will be made through a bill, which will be introduced in the parliament next week by Barrister Daniyal Chaudhry. Moreover, the ruling coalition government has also decided to introduce another bill in the parliament related to the judiciary. The bill will be moved by JUI-F’Nur Alam Khan, which aims to empower a larger bench to hear review appeals. The bill seeks to amend Article 184(3) of the Constitution, allowing a larger bench to hear review appeals. The amendment will also have a retrospective effect, applying to past judgments.

Earlier, it emerged that the ruling coalition is likely to pass important legislation in a joint session of the parliament likely to be called by the president next week. Sources revealed that some crucial legislation is likely to be passed by the PML-N government with the support of its allies in the upcoming sessions.

Last week, Pakistan Peoples Parties (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the top leaders of the two parties including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal-Bhutto Zaddari sat together in Islamabad to iron out differences.

The insiders said the two sides also discussed the prevailing political situation in the country and various key issues.