President Asif Ali Zardari has signed and approved the summaries of appointments and confirmation of additional judges in various high courts of the country. As per details the President has approved the appointment of 10 more judges in the Lahore High Court (LHC), 3 more judges and extension of 1 more judge in the Sindh High Court (SHC) and 3 more judges in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). In addition, the appointment of 3 more judges in Balochistan and the regularisation/confirmation summary of more judges in Peshawar High Court and Lahore High Court were approved. President Zardari, apart from judicial appointments, also signed a summary that made the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges equal to those of the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court. The High Court Judges Leave, Pension and Privileges Order 1997 was also approved. The President, separately, approved the summary for the appointment of Haroon Akhtar Khan as Adviser on Industries & Production to the Prime Minister. These judicial appointments are from recommendations made at the Judicial Commission meetings. The President’s signature clears the way for the appointment of the federal government responses, which had been stalled for some time and had recently been subject to legal challenges and investigations by the Islamabad High Court.
