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ISLAMABAD: The Special Parliamentary Committee (SPC), formed to nominate the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), has been delayed for late tonight after holding its first deliberation at the Parliament House on Tuesday.
The in-camera meeting, earlier scheduled to be held at 4 pm, was postponed till 8:30 pm today after the opposition members belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) skipped proceedings.
The newly formed 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee — formed after the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment — will nominate the next CJP from the panel of three senior Supreme Court judges.
According to a notification issued by the NA secretariat, the in-camera meeting of the special committee was scheduled for 4 pm in the Constitution Room of the Parliament House.
An in-camera meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee will be held today at 4:00 pm in the Constitution room, Parliament House, Islamabad for nomination of the Chief Justice of Pakistan under clause (3) of Article 175A of the Constitution.
Meeting Notice pic.twitter.com/GSfIL1WNqG
— Committees of NA (@NA_Committees) October 22, 2024
Following the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, a parliamentary committee was formed under Article 175A of the tweaked Constitution, which will conduct an in-camera meeting today to decide the top apex court judge for the next three years.
The notification issued from the NA Secretariat stated, “In terms of clause (3B) of Article 175A of the Constitution has been pleased to notify the Special Parliamentary Committee comprising members as per nomination by respective parliamentary leaders based on their strength in Parliament for the nomination of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.”
Prior to the current legislation, the President had the authority to appoint the “most senior judge of the Supreme Court” as the CJP. Senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was previously set to be the next chief justice under the seniority principle.
The Supreme Court Registrar sent three names — Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Yahya Afridi — to the parliamentary committee on the recommendations of Chief Justice Isa.
Incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa is set to retire as the top judge on October 25.
The parliamentary committee comprises eight members from the National Assembly and four senators.
Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) include Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, and Shaista Parvez from PML-N, Syed Naveed Qamar and Raja Pervez Ashraf from PPP, Raana Ansar from MQM, and Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
The committee also consists of Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (PMLN), Farooq H Naek (PPP), Syed Ali Zafar (PTI), and Kamran Murtaza (JUI-F).
As per the new law, the committee would nominate the judge within 14 days before the retirement of the CJP. The committee would send the name of the nominee to the prime minister who would forward the same to the president for the appointment.
As the top judge Faez Isa is set to retire on October 25, the first nomination under clause 3 after the commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth) Act 2024 would be sent within three days prior to the retirement of the chief justice.
However, clause (3) of Article 175A also mentioned that if the nominee from amongst three senior-most judges declines, the remaining judges from amongst three senior-most judges would be considered for nomination.
PTI boycotts SPC meeting
After boycotting the voting on the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided against participating in the meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee tasked with appointing the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).
Taking on X, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram announced that the party’s political committee has decided that it would not participate in the Special Parliamentary Committee.
Political committee has decided that PTI will not participate in Special Parliamentary Committee.
— Sheikh Waqas Akram (@SheikhWaqqas) October 21, 2024
Following the political committee’s meeting, PTI announced that the party would stay away from the Special Parliamentary Committee meeting.
The party further decided to take stern action against those members, who voted against party policies during the constitutional amendments in the Parliament, including the suspension of their party membership.
The former ruling party also decided to issue a show-cause notice to the parliamentarian who remained incommunicado before the voting for amendments, violating party policy including establishing contact with government members.
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