The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has endorsed the nomination of eminent lawyers Babar Sattar and Tariq Jahangiri as additional judges of the Islamabad High Court in its recommendation sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges.
The meeting of JCP — which comprises besides the chief justice of Pakistan senior most judges of the Supreme Court, chief justice and senior most judge of the Islamabad High Court, law minister, attorney general, members of the Pakistan Bar Council and Islamabad Bar Council — was held in the Supreme Court building under Article 175-A of the Constitution, reported Dawn.
Under Article 175-A of the Constitution, the commission recommends appointment and confirmation of the judges whereas the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges endorses these recommendations. It may be noted here that Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah had forwarded these names to the JCP for the post of the IHC judges.
Babar Sattar, who is based in Islamabad, appeared on TV shows as an analyst and also wrote columns for national dailies. He also represented Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa, who was facing (now-quashed) a misconduct reference filed by the federal government over undeclared assets, in the Supreme Court.
According to Salahuddin Ahmed, the president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SCBA), Sattar “is one of the most qualified and upright advocates to be ever chosen for elevation as a judge”.
According to reports, Jahangiri is a former advocate general for Islamabad. He is an expert in criminal, constitutional and civil laws. He was elected as president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association in 2016. Previously, he was president of the District Bar Association of Islamabad.
