Four judges oppose appointment of 8 new judges to Supreme Court of Pakistan

Four judges of the Supreme Court have written a letter to the chief justice of Pakistan against appointment of eight new judges to the top court of the country.

The judges who have written the letter to the chief justice of Pakistan are Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Athar Minallah. They have pleaded that appointment new judges should be postponed until formation of a full court under the 26th Constitutional Amendment. They have said that new judges should not be appointed until issues like transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and seniority of judges are not resolved. They have also asked the chief justice of Pakistan to postpone a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan scheduled to take place on February 8 on appointment of new judges to the Supreme Court.

The letter says that the constitutional bench at the Supreme Court can ask for a full court on the 26th Constitutional Amendment case. It says that appointment of new judges to the Supreme Court will create a controversy about the full court. It says that three judges have been transferred to the IHC and it was mandatory for them under the constitution to take fresh oath of their office. It says that status of these judges will remain controversial until they take a fresh oath. It says that the seniority list in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has changed despite all these arguments.