LAHORE  - Judicial Commission of Pakistan approved appointment of eight Additional Judges for Lahore High Court, besides according extension to six other additional judges of LHC here on Tuesday.
This decision was taken in a meeting of Judicial Commission chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, held in Islamabad.
The approval for appointment of Additional Judges for LHC included Faisal Zaman, Shahid Jameel, Shamas Mahmood Mirza, Sikandar Zulqarnain Saleem, Shah Khawar,  Zafarullah Khan Khakwani, Syed Shahbaz Rizvi and James Joseph.
Judicial Commission also accorded extension for one year to the Additional Judges of Lahore High Court which include Justice Shoaib Saeed, Justice Atir Mahmood, Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan, Justice Miss Aalia Neelum, Justice Shehzada Mazhar and Mr. Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh.
However, the senior lawyers have not welcomed the decision of the Judicial Commission stating that the process of the appointment of judges to the high courts was not transparent.
They urged the authorities concerned to introduce an effective mechanism through which the judges of the high courts are appointed purely on merit.
They said that the commission should work independently as the other commissions of the country like Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial level public service commissions.
Talking to The Nation, senior lawyer A.K Dogar said that though he did not want to criticise any person recommended by the commission for his appointment as judge to high courts. But the process of appointment, he said, was not based on merit.
He said that the commission did not hold any exam or test for the appointment of judges to high courts.
Arguing on his point of view, Dogar said that the exams of CSS is conducted each year for appointment of officers to various departments and likewise the provincial Public Service Commission hold their exams to hire candidates at different departments to run affairs of the State.
But there is no mechanism or any proper system for the appointment of judicial officers/judges to higher judiciary, which is really disappointing, he maintained.
Dogar said there are thousands of lawyers across the country and they should be given an opportunity to qualify an exam for appointment of judges to high courts. He said that thousands of people submitted their applications with FPSC and other commissions to get a job and sit in exams but few of them qualified it for their appointment.
Infact, the process by which the judges are appointed to high courts was made during the British era in the region but the British did not practice this process of appointment, he said.
He said he had already filed a suit challenging the process of appointment in Lahore High Court but to no avail. Dogar said two judges of the LHC had dismissed his petition but he was planning to challenge their order before the Supreme Court.
According to rules 3 of the rules of Judicial Commission, Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court may nominate any person he knew about to the Judicial Commission for his appointment as judge of high court, which is not a strong and rational way, Dogar pointed out.
Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique said that the appointment of Additional Judges was unconstitutional, because Article 175 of the Constitution suggested that the appointment of judges to high courts should be on permanent basis.
He said he would also file a suit challenging the process of judges appointment.
Azhar Siddique said that the appointment of recent Additional Judges was not based on merit and majority of them are appointed on political recommendations.