Bilal Ahmed 
(C)DAWN,process of appointment of new chief justice of pakistan begins
The Committee notified by the National Assembly Secretariat on Monday evening under Article 175A of the amended Constitution which came into force after the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment will hold a closed-door meeting to decide who will occupy the top post of the Supreme Court for the next three years, The News reported .
Pakistan’s parliament began the process of appointing a new chief justice as soon as the legislation was passed by the upper and lower houses.
Members of the committee include Senators Azam Nazeer Tarar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Farooq H Naek of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Syed Ali Zafar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Kamran Murtaza Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl.
The National Assembly members representing the PML-N are Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and Shaista Parvez, Raana Ansar of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Syed Naveed Qamar and Raja Pervez Ashraf of the PPP, and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Sahibzada Hamid Raza of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
According to Clause 3C of Article 175A, the commission, by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its members, would send the appointment within 14 days of the retirement of the Chief Justice.
e nomination committee will send the name of the candidate to the Prime Minister, who will forward it to the President for appointment. The appointed committee will nominate the new chief justice from among justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar and Yahya Afridi, the three most senior justices of the Supreme Court after the outgoing chief justice.
On the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari earlier gave his assent to the Constitution (26th Amendment) Bill 2024, turning it into law. After presidential assent, the bill was notified in the Pakistan Gazette.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has written a letter titled ‘Constitution of Special Parliamentary Committee under Article 175A of the Constitution’ to Senate President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani for the constitution of the 12-member special parliamentary committee for the appointment of the new Chief Justice.
After receiving a message from the President of the Senate, the names were suggested by the parliamentary leaders of the respective parties in the Senate. Speaking in the National Assembly after the bill was passed by the House, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that the 26th constitutional amendment passed by parliament would be a milestone in the country’s history, while safeguarding its future.
