LAHORE: Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Khalid Ishaq on Friday told the Lahore High Court that the vacancies of the judges in various special courts of the province had been filled.

He also presented the notifications for the appointment of 12 district & sessions judges (D&SJs) in six anti-terrorism courts, four anti-corruption courts, a consumer court and others.

Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan lauded the role of the AGP in filling the posts of the special courts lying vacant for months.

“All are respectable for us. You have shown good conduct,” the chief justice said addressing the law officer.

AGP Ishaq stated that some posts of the judges were still vacant as they were under the purview of the federal government.

A federal law officer said the judges’ appointment would be approved in the next cabinet meeting.

The chief justice noted that previously the provincial government had been seeking time and now the federal government came up with the same request.

He gave 15 days to the federal government to fill the vacancies of the judges in the special courts of Punjab.

Later, the LHC also notified the judges’ appointments approved by the government.

As per a notification, the sessions judges include Mr Khalid Arshad appointed 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.

D&SJ Muhammad Ali has been posted at District Consumer Court of Lahore, Bakht Fakhar Bahzad as judicial member of the appellate tribunal of Punjab Revenue Authority, Muhammad Khalid Ishaq as special judge of anti-corruption court of Bahawalpur, Muhammad Zahid Ghaznavi as special judge of anti-corruption court of Faisalabad, Safdar Ali Bhatti as senior special judge of anti-corruption court of Punjab and Arshad Hussain as special judge anti-corruption, Lahore.

The CJ had taken notice of the vacancies in the special courts while hearing a Punjab government’s appeal seeking transfer of trial proceedings in various May 9 cases against the PTI leaders from a Rawalpindi ATC.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2024