ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday extended the term of the Constitutional Benches of the Sindh High Court (SHC) by one year.

It was the first meeting of the JCP attended by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Senator Rana Sanaullah Khan, who were recently nominated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his deputy Ishaq Dar, respectively, under Article 175A(2)(vii) of the Constitution.

Both will represent parliament as members of the treasury benches of their respective Houses. The nominations became necessary following the recent resignations of PPP stalwart Senator Farooq H. Naek and PML-N member Aftab Sheikh from the commission.

Presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, the JCP welcomed Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Rana Sanaullah to the meeting.

President approves foreign visits by chief justices of SC and FCC

During the proceedings, the comm­ission declared the law degree of Muh­ammad Ahsan Bhoon, one of its members representing the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the regulatory body for lawyers, to be valid and genuine.

The CJP informed the commission that, upon receiving a complaint from former member of the National Assembly and husband of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar, he had referred the matter to the PBC for verification. The council subsequently verified Mr Bhoon’s law degree twice, the CJP added.

Mr Bhoon had been facing allegations concerning his educational credentials after Capt (retd) Safdar lodged a complaint with the JCP seeking verification of his academic qualifications, enrolment and professional credentials.

Earlier, Mr Bhoon had served a defamation notice worth Rs5 billion on retired Capt Safdar, demanding an unconditional public apology and the retraction of the allegation that his LLB degree was fake.

Foreign visits

On the advice of PM Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari has approved ex-Pakistan leaves and issued no-objection certificates (NOC) for the chief justices of the Supreme Court (SC) and the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to make upcoming foreign visits.

The Presidency said that President Zardari has approved the trips of CJP Yahya Afridi and FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026