Islamabad: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan will hold five meetings from January 12 to 15 to review the confirmation of 40 additional judges across the country's five high courts. The meetings will be chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi.
According to the schedule, the commission will consider:
Islamabad High Court: 3 judges
Balochistan High Court: 2 judges
Sindh High Court: 12 judges
Peshawar High Court: 10 judges
Lahore High Court: 13 judges
The Islamabad High Court judges whose confirmations will be reviewed on January 12 include Justice Azam Khan, Justice Muhammad Asif, and Justice Inam Amin Minhas. Balochistan High Court judges Justice Ayub Khan and Justice Najmuddin Mengal will also be considered on the same day.
On January 13, confirmations of 12 Sindh High Court judges-including Justice Miran Muhammad Shah, Justice Tasleem Sultana, Justice Riyazat Ali Sahar, Justice Hasan Akbar, Justice Khalid Shahani, Justice Abdul Hameed Bhurgi, Justice Fayyaz ul Hasan, Justice Jan Junejo, Justice Nasir Bhanbro, Justice Ali Haider, Justice Usman Ali, and Justice Jafar Raza-will be reviewed. The commission will also consider the extension of constitutional benches at the Sindh High Court.
On January 14, confirmations of 10 Peshawar High Court judges-Justice Tariq Afridi, Justice Abdul Fayyaz, Justice Farah Jamshed, Justice Inamullah, Justice Sabghatullah, Justice Salahuddin, Justice Sadiq Ali, Justice Mudassir Amir, Justice Aurangzeb, and Justice Jawad Ehsan-will be discussed.
On January 15, 13 Lahore High Court judges-Justice Hasan Nawaz, Justice Waqar Awan, Justice Sardar Akbar, Justice Ahsan Raza, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Jawad Zafar, Justice Khalid Ishaq, Justice Owais Khalid, Justice Sultan Mehmood, Justice Raja Ghazanfar, Justice Tanveer Sheikh, Justice Tariq Bajwa, and Justice Abhar Gul-will be considered for confirmation.
Meanwhile, under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, a key Judicial Commission meeting has been summoned at the Supreme Court on January 12 to establish a framework for appointments of judges to the Federal Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and High Courts.
The agenda refers to Article 175A, Clause 4, which requires interviews of candidates prior to appointments; however, the Judicial Commission Rules 2025 do not provide an interview procedure. According to Rule 15, Sub-rule 4, in case of ambiguity regarding any matter before the commission, decisions can be made by a two-thirds majority of total members.