The higher judiciary in Pakistan has entered a new discord after the elevation of a junior judge of Sindh High Court (SHC) to the Supreme Court (SC).
The junior jurist of SHC, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, sworn in as a judge of the apex court after he was nominated by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
Amid the process, SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh was bypassed for a permanent position in the top court and JCP instead recommended his elevation as an ad-hoc jurist for a year.
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Later, on August 16, the SC released a notification regarding the appointment of the chief justice in the apex court, fixing the oath date as August 17 at 9 am in Islamabad.
On the same day, the SHC chief justice responded to the notification and termed it illegal.
The senior-most judge of the high court said that the notification was issued despite that he consistently and repeatedly declined the offer as an ad-hoc judge.
He recalled sending letters in this regard on August 5, 6, and 10.
Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh has not taken the oath as an ad-hoc judge in the top court and he continued presiding over the cases in the high court on Tuesday.
The analysts said that the discord in the higher judiciary arising from the elevation of a junior judge to apex court isn’t a good omen and suggested resolving all matters amicably.