CJP Yahya Afridi decides to appoint three acting judges to Supreme Court to clear backlog

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has decided to appoint three high court judges as Acting Supreme Court Judges to facilitate timely disposal of pending cases and speed up judicial proceedings.

The proposed post includes two judges from the Lahore High Court and one judge from the Peshawar High Court. According to Supreme Court sources, the proposed judges are Justice Sadakat Ali Khan and Justice Shahbaz Rizvi of the Lahore High Court and Justice Ijaz Anwar of the Peshawar High Court.

A meeting of the Judicial Council chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi is expected to be held later this month to consider the proposed appointments. The sanctioned composition of the Supreme Court is 34 judges. However, the number of vacancies in the Supreme Court has reduced to 16 after the retirement of Justice Jamal Khan Mandohail.

The shortage of judges has contributed to an increased caseload, making the timely disposal of pending cases increasingly difficult.

Sources said Chief Justice Yahya Afridi intends to appoint the three High Court judges as acting Supreme Court judges to address the shortage and help clear the backlog of cases. On this occasion, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi hosted a dinner for the judges of the Peshawar High Court. Judges of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi court were also invited, along with Justice Syed Shahbaz Rizvi, who presides over the Multan court. Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf, Justice Raza Qureshi, Justice Syed Farhad Ali Shah and several other judges were also present at the dinner.

Further progress on the proposed appointments is expected after the Judiciary Committee meeting.