The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has condemned the proposal to elevate Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Justice Ayesha Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC), announcing a strike on Thursday when the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) will meet to discuss her appointment.
PBC Vice-Chairman Khushdil Khan said in a statement that the council would completely boycott the courts on Thursday. He maintained that the PBC did not have an issue with a woman’s appointment to the SC, but argued that seniority should be taken into account.
The Chairman also reiterated a statement from Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed relating that new judges should be appointed by the incoming top judge.
The CJP had proposed the appointment of Justice Malik to the SC for the second time last month.
The first vote on Justice Malik was held in September, resulting in a gridlock in which four members of the JCP opposed her appointment and the remaining four were in favor.
Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, former judge Dost Mohammad Khan and a representative of the PBC, Akhtar Hussain, had opposed her appointment. The CJP, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Federal Law Minister Barrister Dr Farogh Naseem and Attorney General (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan ruled in favor of her appointment to the apex court.
The JCP will reconsider Justice Malik’s appointment to the Supreme Court on January 6, 2022.
