ISLAMABAD: The stalled process of appointments to the high courts is expected to resume, as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has convened a meeting on June 11 to consider and approve rules governing appointments to the superior judiciary.

According to sources, the formulation of the long-awaited rules is the principal item on the agenda of the upcoming meeting. The absence of revised rules following recent constitutional amendments has delayed appointments to several high courts despite a growing number of vacancies and an increasing backlog of cases.

The issue gained significance after the JCP, during its April 28 meeting, approved the transfer of three judges of the Islamabad High Court to the Lahore High Court, Peshawar High Court, and Sindh High Court.

Sources said the June 11 meeting is also expected to decide the composition of a proposed committee that would interview candidates seeking elevation to the superior judiciary. The proposal has generated debate within legal circles, particularly among lawyers in Islamabad, who argue that candidates for constitutional courts should not be subjected to interviews by any committee operating outside the constitutional framework.

The matter was discussed in detail during a meeting of the JCP’s Rule-Making Committee on May 6. The committee was tasked with developing a mechanism for appointments in light of recent constitutional changes affecting the structure and functioning of the judiciary.

The 27th Constitutional Amend­ment empowered the JCP to frame rules regulating its own procedures, including the “procedure and criteria for the assessment, interview, evaluation, and fitness for appointment of judges”.

The Rule-Making Committee comprises Federal Constitutional Court Justice Aamer Farooq, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senator Farooq H. Naek, Senator Syed Ali Zafar, and Pakistan Bar Council representative Ahsan Bhoon.

According to sources familiar with the deliberations, committee members discussed multiple proposals regarding interviews of prospective judges. Senator Ali Zafar proposed that the entire JCP should interview each candidate when his or her nomination comes before the commission, arguing that such a process would ensure collective assessment by all members.

Senator Farooq Naek, however, suggested that a seven-member committee should conduct interviews before the JCP meeting and submit recommendations to the commission for consideration.

Bhoon proposed the formation of a five-member committee consisting of two judges from the Federal Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court, one parliamentarian, the attorney general, and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council.

Sources said the proposed committee may include Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamer Farooq, Senator Ali Zafar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, and Bhoon.

The proposals are expected to be placed before the full commission for a final decision. The sources said the JCP is likely to finalise both the rules and the interview mechanism at the upcoming meeting.

The need for appointments has become particularly pressing in the Lahore High Court, where vacancies continue to mount.

According to official figures, the sanctioned strength of the LHC is 60 judges, but only 41 judges, including the chief justice, are currently serving, leaving 19 positions vacant.

Sources said LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has already initiated consultations with senior lawyers and law officers to fill the vacancies. Several prominent advocates and prosecutors have reportedly appeared before the chief justice as part of the consultative process.

Those who have reportedly app­e­ared before the chief justice include Islamabad Prosecutor General Ghu­lam Sarwar Nihang, advocates Asad Ali Bajwa, Kashif Rajwana, Asad Abbasi and Shireen Imran, Barri­s­ter Zargham, Punjab Advocate General Amjad Pervaiz, Barrister Usman Ghani Rashid, Punjab Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah, Barrister Umer Riaz and Advocate Masroor Haider Awan.

SKARDU: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday urged Gilgit-Baltistan voters to give his party a “heavy” mandate by securing a majority in order to safeguard the region’s rights.

Bilawal was addressing a rally in Ghizer, amid a series of rallies across GB as the PPP and other political parties have, over the past few days, ramped up efforts to garner support ahead of the polls.

Referring to the nine seats the PPP had won in the last GB elections, Bilawal claimed other seats had been stolen. However, this time, “no one can steal seats from you, and this means that all three of Ghizer’s seats will be yours,” he added.

Of other political parties in the running, he said the party wanted a “heavy majority in GB — not for me, but for you” so that together they could complete Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s and Benazir Bhutto’s “incomplete” mission in the region.

The PPP chairman highlighted the achievements of those who came before him, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s subsidies that continued to benefit the region, and Benazir Bhutto’s granting Ghizer district status. President Asif Ali Zardari, he added, had given the region its assembly, identity, governor and chief minister, saying: “Now it is my turn and yours.”

“It is the new generation’s responsibility to secure more rights for GB,” he said, adding that he wanted a mandate from the region so that he could ensure Islamabad listened to the wishes of the GB people before creating any other provinces.

Bilawal particularly stressed the need for a PPP majority, including all three Ghizer seats, in order to pursue the right of sovereignty promised to the people.

He noted that 28,000 square kilometres of land in GB had previously belonged to the state, saying that it was due to the people of GB, the PPP and its assembly members that legislation was passed in the assembly to render it “your land, common land” according to law.

“The people that say the PPP does not deliver on their promises — remind them that we have been in politics for three generations,” he said. “And for three generations we have had a record of being true to our word; when we make promises we deliver on them.”

He added: “Now what’s left? I want to deliver on this legislation. If I don’t get a government, if I don’t get all three of these seats in Ghizer; if I don’t get the seats in Baltistan, all of Gilgit, all of the Diamer division; if I am stopped from installing my chief minister, then I know that whether it is the PML-N or another party, they will tear up our legislation like a piece of paper. They will not deliver on it and my promise will remain incomplete.”

Bilawal also highlighted the right of ownership as a key reason to vote for the PPP, stating that the party wanted to grant ownership of arable land to the people of the region.

He also highlighted the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood-Affectees (SPHF) programme, in which two million houses were being built for flood-affected people with ownership of the houses and land being given to the people themselves. He termed the venture the “biggest land transfer in Pakistan’s history” since the land reforms made by his grandfather, adding that it had created one million jobs in Sindh.

He declared his intention to establish a similar housing scheme in GB, starting from Ghizer, to support those affected by natural disasters and flooding in the region.

Alongside the right to sovereignty and ownership, the PPP chairman also reaffirmed his commitment to the party’s third promise — the “right to employment”.

He compared the PPP with other parties, stating that while PPP politicians competed to see who could create the most jobs — “whether in government, the private sector, public-private partnerships, abroad, through technical education or skills” — other political parties instead competed “to see how many people they can make unemployed”.

“After the PPP government left, no provincial government in GB has given jobs — they have been stolen,” he said.

He described this as the “foundational difference” between the PPP and other parties: “The PPP gives employment; they steal employment.”

Bilawal pledged that if elected, the PPP would do everything possible to create job opportunities in both the public and private sectors, particularly for unemployed youth.

At the same time, he stressed that these opportunities would be merit-based. To avoid any suspicion of bias, he said he intended to use artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool for examining and selecting candidates.

Bilawal has spent the last few days addressing campaign rallies in the region, including a rally in Shigar on Monday where he stated that any new constitutional amendment should provide protection to the rights of GB.

He also addressed a public gathering in Skardu on Tuesday where he called for greater rights for the region. There, the Bhutto scion asserted that the PPP was the “only party that represents the underprivileged and the poor”, and emphasised that the country could only develop once the working class and the youth were economically empowered.

Additionally, speaking in Diamer on Wednesday, he vowed to address the resettlement concerns of those affected by the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam on an “immediate basis” if his party was elected. He added that had President Asif Ali Zardari’s government not been removed in 2013, the dam would have been built by now.

General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday, after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the launch of a pilot project for a proposed automated income tax collection system in Islamabad, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

In a statement, the PMO said that Prime Minister Shehbaz chaired a review meeting on ongoing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, State Minister for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, and others.

“The meeting reviewed the ongoing measures aimed at modernising the tax system and increasing tax collection in detail,” it said, adding that a comprehensive plan was presented to make inland revenue collection more “effective, transparent and faceless”.

According to the PMO, the meeting was informed that the proposed new tax system would have the capability to identify under-declared income and assets through data relating to properties, vehicles and banks.

“Modern technology and artificial intelligence would be used to make the tax system automated, transparent and effective,” it added.

Addressing the meeting, the prime minister said that the “project for an automated, modern and efficient tax management system through the effective use of modern technology would prove to be a milestone in the government’s reform agenda,” the PMO stated.

The premier added that minimising human intervention and discretionary powers in the tax collection system was the need of the hour.

The prime minister further said that implementation of the project would not only increase revenues but also promote transparency, fairness and public trust in the tax system.

He added that the process of FBR reforms would continue for the documentation of the economy and expansion of the tax net.

During the meeting, the PM Shehbaz also paid tribute to the provincial governments for their effective action against illegal cigarettes, the PMO said.

“Through enforcement measures, additional tax collection of Rs40 billion from the cigarette sector is expected this year for the national exchequer,” it said.

Under the new system, it was also proposed to establish a National Faceless Audit Wing, a National Assessment Wing and a Field Operations Wing.

GILGIT: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday revived his longstanding question as to why he was ousted from power as he kicked off the PML-N election campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

“Why was I removed from power? Why was I sent to jail? This is also something to think about I do not want to go into details, but it is a reality,” Nawaz said addressing a public gathering in Gilgit city during his one-day visit to the region.

He coupled the question with a rare complaint directed at supporters, saying, “It is also your fault that you allowed someone like me to be exiled repeatedly.”

Nawaz, who served as the country’s prime minister thrice, was disqualified by the Supreme Court in July 2017 for not disclosing in his nomination papers the salary he received as a board member of a firm owned by one of his sons.

Accountability courts later sentenced him to prison in two of the three corruption cases filed against him in view of the order of a Supreme Court bench, which was originally formed to hear a suo moto case related to the Panama Papers scandal.

The accountability courts’ verdicts were, however, set aside by the Islamabad High Court in 2023, after the formation of a PML-N led coalition government.

Marking the formal start of his party’s campaign for the upcoming G-B elections Nawaz said he would personally oversee development projects in the region and ensure their completion.

“I will monitor the new projects in G-B myself. Whether you vote for me or not, I will still speak to [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif about resolving your issues,” he said.

He emphasized tourism promotion as a key priority, saying it could generate employment opportunities for the local population. He also announced scholarships for students and distribution of laptops, reiterating that his party seeks votes based on performance rather than criticism of rivals.

The former prime minister strongly criticized the region’s infrastructure and power situation, noting that some areas face up to “20 hours of load-shedding,” which he termed unacceptable.

“If our government is formed here, I will visit every two to three months and ensure that the projects we start are completed,” he said.

Referring to demands for a share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Nawaz said a committee had been formed in 2017 to address the issue but its work was interrupted by his disqualification.

“Had we not been removed, this work would have been completed,” he said.

He lamented what he described as neglect of G-B despite its importance, particularly as a hub of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“I want to ask why Gilgit has been ignored. Look at the broken roads—it pains me,” he said, questioning why the Mansehra-Gilgit road project had not been completed.

The former PM claimed that major projects in the region, including hospitals and hydel power schemes, were initiated by his party. He cited the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, saying Rs100 billion had been allocated for land acquisition during his tenure in 2015 but the project remains incomplete.

“Had our government continued, these issues would not have persisted,” he added.

He reiterated that PML-N does not rely on negative campaigning. “I am the same Nawaz Sharif who does not seek votes by criticizing others—we ask for votes based on our performance,” he said, while expressing concern over the lack of investment in public welfare.

The PML-N president arrived in Gilgit earlier in the day, where he was received by party leaders including Amir Muqam, former chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman and Muhammad Safdar Awan.

Senior party figures accompanying him included Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, Pervaiz Rashid, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Anusha Rehman and Kazim Pirzada.

During the visit, Nawaz Sharif also met party leaders and PML-N ticket holders contesting the G-B elections, as the party intensifies its campaign in the strategically important region.