Islamabad, October 22,2024- The special parliamentary committee formed for the appointment of the new Chief Justice of Pakistan has reached a consensus to nominate Justice Yahya Afridi for the position. Due to the boycott by members of the Sunni Ittehad Council, the committee made its decision without opposition members present.
Members of the PTI and the Sunni Ittehad Council announced their boycott of the meeting, prompting attempts by other committee members to persuade PTI to participate, which were unsuccessful. Consequently, the meeting scheduled for 4 PM commenced at 9 PM without the participation of PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council members.
Sources indicated that the Supreme Court Registrar requested names from the Chief Justice, who submitted the names of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, and Justice Yahya Afridi to the parliamentary committee. After the committee meeting began at 4 PM, it was adjourned until 8 PM due to the boycott by the Sunni Ittehad Council. During this interval, other committee members decided to persuade PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council members to join.
Committee member and Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar stated that the ideal situation would be to convince them to participate in the committee. He suggested that one member from each party should approach opposition members. He further mentioned that the Constitution allows decisions to be made with eight committee members present. Although the required number of members was present at today’s meeting, the proceedings were halted to allow PTI members to join.
