SC’s ad hoc judges take oath

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Justice (Retd) Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice (Retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, were sworn in as ad-hoc judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday.

The ceremony was held at the Supreme Court where Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath. Other judges including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, law officers, lawyers, and court staff attended the ceremony. Chief Justice Isa administered the oath of office to both ad-hoc judges. Justice (Retd) Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice (Retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel were appointed for a period of one year.

The Ministry of Law and Justice had issued a notification for the appointment of two ad-hoc judges to the Supreme Court on July 27th. President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the appointments on July 26th. Earlier, on July 20th, the Supreme Judicial Council had approved the appointment of Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel as ad-hoc judges.

The Chief Justice had proposed four retired judges for the ad-hoc positions: Justice (Retd) Mushir Alam, Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqir, Justice (Retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, and Justice (Retd) Tariq Masood. However, Justice (Retd) Mushir Alam and Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqir declined the offer. Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqir cited personal commitments, while Justice (Retd) Mishir Alam withdrew his candidacy due to the ongoing social media campaign against ad-hoc judges.