Aamir Qureshi—AFP
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Friday administered oath of office to three newly-elevated judges of the Supreme Court, increasing the total strength of the apex court to 15.
The three judges—Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court; Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Sindh High Court; Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court—were nominated for elevation to the Supreme Court by a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan last month. Subsequently, the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges had accorded its approval for the nominations, paving the way for them to become a part of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. After the swearing in of these three judges, the Supreme Court is still short of two judges for a full court.
The swearing-in ceremony was conducted at the Supreme Court, with judges, lawyers, law officers, court officers and staff in attendance. In addition to these three judges, Justice Aamer Farooq was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, replacing Justice Athar Minallah.
On Wednesday, the President’s Secretariat had issued a statement announcing that he had approved the appointment of the newly-elevated judges, as well as the new IHC chief justice, under Article 175A of the Constitution.