Supreme Court sees shake up after entry of new judges
ISLAMABAD: After the arrival of new Supreme Court judges, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi on Monday reshuffled a number of committees which had been constituted to distribute different responsibilities among judges of the top court.
CJP Afridi through an office order reconstituted the six-member ‘Case Management Committee’ headed by himself and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, the additional registrar (judicial). The IT director will be its secretary. The committee will ensure efficiency in judicial work by streamlining case management.
The CJP also appointed five judges of the Supreme Court to supervise and monitor the functions and performance of special courts (anti-terrorism courts) in Pakistan. Justice Musarrat Hilali will act as the monitoring judge for ATCs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) while Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Justice Hashim Khan Kakar, and Justice Salahuddin Panhwar will act as monitoring judges in Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh. Justice Aamer Farooq will be the monitoring judge for Islamabad special courts.
The CJP also tasked a committee comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad, Justice Hashim Kakar, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim with monitoring of model courts. The SC’s IT affairs committee was reshuffled, with the CJP being its chairman, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb its members.
CJP Afridi also issued an office order that miscellaneous appeals and applications for order in chambers under Order V of the SC Rules 1980 at the principal seat will be placed before the CJP and other judges. Likewise, an appeal against the order of the registrar under Rule 3 Order V of the SC Rules 1980 will also be placed before the CJP for assigning them to any of the five senior judges.
The applications for permission to withdraw civil cases will be placed before Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi for decisions. Justice Hashim Kakar will oversee criminal miscellaneous appeals arising out of objections to the non-surrender of the accused/appellant and applications for permission to withdraw criminal cases/NAB cases under Order V Rule 2(10) of the SC Rules 1980.
Justice Salahuddin Panhwar will deal with applications to tax bills returned by the taxing officer/registrar under Order XXVIII of the SC Rules 1980 whereas Justice Shakeel Ahmad will decide matters relating to applications for amendment of pleadings of petitions/appeals, applications for enlargement or abridgment of time, pleas to set aside ex-parte orders and for striking out or adding a party.
The CJP also nominated Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim as SC security affairs in charge. He will also supervise the security affairs of all ex-judges of the SC.
Besides, the CJP reconstituted the SC archives committee, with Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi as chairman, and Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Miangul Hassan as members. Yaqoob Bangash will be curator of the panel.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Miangul Hassan will be members of the law clerkship programme committee, which will make recommendations for appointment of law clerks and extension in their tenure as and when their services will be required by this court.
He also nominated Justice Miangul Hassan as a liaison judge on UK-Pakistan Protocol on Child and Family Laws.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Aamer Farooq will be part of SC buildings committee to supervise affairs of all SC buildings, including the principal seat, branch registries, judges guest houses, lodges and attached assets. Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Aamer Farooq will oversee the SC research centre committee.
Also, a committee constituted on Oct 8, 2022, for approval of the quality and selection of specimen of cloth for staff uniform was dissolved with an immediate effect.
Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025