Islamabad, October 21, 2024—With the presidential assent, the 26th constitutional amendment has taken effect, initiating the formation of a special parliamentary committee to appoint the new Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The committee will consist of 12 members, including nominees from various political parties. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has nominated Azam Nazeer Tarar, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has put forward Farooq H. Naek from the Senate. The opposition includes Barrister Ali Zafar from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Kamran Murtaza from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).
In response to a letter from the National Assembly Secretariat, the PPP has nominated Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar and the PTI has named Barrister Gohar and Hamid Raza Khan. The PML-N has submitted Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, and Shaista Pervaiz, while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) nominated Raina Ansar.
A meeting of the parliamentary committee is expected to convene tomorrow. The committee will comprise eight members from the National Assembly—three from the PML-N, two from the PPP, two from the PTI, and one from the MQM—and four members from the Senate, one each from the PML-N, PPP, PTI, and JUI.
Last night, both the Senate and the National Assembly approved the 26th constitutional amendment, with 65 votes in favor and four against in the Senate, and 225 in favor and 12 against in the National Assembly. Notably, some PTI and Balochistan National Party-Mengal members also supported the amendment. Following the approval, the amendment was signed by President Asif Zardari, officially making it part of the constitution. The parliamentary committee is tasked with appointing the new Chief Justice at least three days before the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa. The outgoing Chief Justice will submit the names of the three most senior judges—currently Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar, and Yahya Afridi—as potential successors.
