CJ Gulzar summons JCP meeting to discuss Justice Ayesha Malik’s elevation to SC

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed has summoned the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting on January 6 to reconsider the promotion of Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha Malik to the apex court.

The JCP meeting will be presided over by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed. According to Article 175-A of the constitution, the JCP, after confirmation, will propose the names to a parliamentary committee for the appointment of judges in superior judges.

It is to mention here that in September JCP meeting ended without a decision on Justice Ayesha Malik’s promotion to Supreme Court.

Read more: CJ of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed nominated Justice Aysha Malik for the elevation to the SC

In the September meeting, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood told reasons for opposing the elevation of Justice Ayesha Malik. He said that it would be a pleasure to have a lady judge in the Supreme Court but stressed that the appointment must be made on merit, without discriminating her other colleagues only on the ground of gender.

Justice Ayesha Malik, is fourth in the seniority list of LHC judges. She was the first woman nominated for elevation to the Supreme Court. However, her nomination had failed to sail through the JCP, as the members could not evolve a consensus on the matter.

Under the Constitution, the JCP can recommend the elevation of the judge to the top court with a majority vote. On September 9, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan and Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem had supported her nomination.

However, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice (retd) Dost Muhammad Khan and Pakistan Bar Council representative in the JCP Akhtar Hussain had opposed the nomination, while Justice Qazi Faez Isa, also a member of the JCP, was absent from the meeting.