Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Monday directed the interior secretary and the federal government to develop a strategy to tackle the issue of judges’ security.

The chief justice directed the chief secretaries, inspectors general of police of all provinces and the chief commissioner and inspector general of Islamabad Police to develop an effective security mechanism for judges and their families. He directed the government to take steps for safe and early recovery of Barrister Owais Ali Shah, son of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was kidnapped by unidentified men in Karachi a couple of weeks ago.

Chief Justice Jamali issued these directions while presiding over a meeting on security for judges at the Supreme Court building in Islamabad on Monday. Attended by judges of the Supreme Court and other superior courts, inspectors general of police and chief secretaries, the meeting reviewed the measures taken by the authorities for the security of judges and recovery of Owais Shah.

Officials of law enforcement agencies and chief secretaries briefed the meeting about the security measures and deployment of security personnel for the security of judges and their families. The judges of superior courts made their suggestions about security for them and their families and voiced their concerns.

Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended two people’s names for vacant posts of additional judges at the Peshawar High Court (PHC). The commission also recommended names to fill the three vacant posts of additional judges at the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali presided over the meeting.

PHC Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel earlier recommended the names of Ibrahim Khan, Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Sohail Akhtar, Muzammil Khan and Mian Hussain Ali for the vacant posts of additional judges. Similarly, BHC Chief Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai proposed the names of Abdullah Baloch, Zaheeruddin Kakar, Syed Anwar Aftab and Nazeer Ahmad Langove for the posts of additional judges.

However, the JCP recommended the names of Ibrahim Khan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim for the posts of additional judges at the PHC and names of Abdullah Baloch, Zaheeruddin Kakar and Syed Anwar Aftab for the posts of additional judges at the BHC.

The meeting was attended by the federal law minister, four senior most judges, the attorney general for Pakistan, a retired judge and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).

Sources told Daily Times that date for a meeting of a five-member committee would be decided in the next two days. The committee would consider the proposed amendments to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan Rules 2010. The committee is headed by Justice Mian Saqib, while Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali, PBC representative Muhammad Yasin Azad, Punjab Bar Council representative Javed Hashmi and Justice (Retired) Javed Iqbal are its members.

In March 2013, the PBC proposed amendments to the JCP rules, seeking transfer of discretionary powers for appointment of superior court judges from the chairman to the commission.

Seeking amendments to rules 2, 3, 6 and 8 of the JCP, the PBC demanded that the chief justice of a high court should consult the representative of the bar council before recommending names for the vacant posts of judges.