The Advocate General of Punjab, Khalid Ishaq, informed the Lahore High Court on Friday that the vacancies for judges in various special courts across the province had been filled. He also presented notifications for the appointment of 12 district and sessions judges (D&SJs) in six anti-terrorism courts, four anti-corruption courts, a consumer court, and others.
Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan commended the AGP for swiftly filling the vacant posts in the special courts, emphasizing their importance in maintaining judicial efficiency. “Your prompt action is commendable,” remarked the chief justice to the law officer.
AGP Ishaq mentioned that while some judge positions remained vacant, they were within the federal government’s jurisdiction. A federal law officer assured that the judges’ appointments would be ratified in the upcoming cabinet meeting.
Expressing concern over the prolonged vacancies, the chief justice granted the federal government a 15-day deadline to appoint judges for the special courts in Punjab.
Subsequently, the Lahore High Court officially announced the appointments of the judges approved by the government. Among these appointments, Mr. Khalid Arshad was designated at ATC-I Lahore, Irfan Haider at ATC-II Lahore, Muhammad Abbas at ATC Sargodha, Muhammad Naeem Saleem at ATC Gujranwala, Raja Shahid Zamir at ATC Faisalabad, and Ziaullah Khan at ATC Sahiwal.
Furthermore, Muhammad Ali was assigned to the District Consumer Court of Lahore, Bakht Fakhar Bahzad as the judicial member of the appellate tribunal of Punjab Revenue Authority, Muhammad Khalid Ishaq as the special judge of the anti-corruption court of Bahawalpur, Muhammad Zahid Ghaznavi as the special judge of the anti-corruption court of Faisalabad, Safdar Ali Bhatti as the senior special judge of the anti-corruption court of Punjab, and Arshad Hussain as the special judge anti-corruption, Lahore.
The Chief Justice’s intervention followed a Punjab government’s appeal seeking the transfer of trial proceedings in various cases against PTI leaders from a Rawalpindi ATC.
