The Judicial Commission on Saturday deferred the issue of appointment of ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court and recommended one-year further extension to six additional judges of the Sindh High Court.

The Commission, which met here with Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the chair, deferred the matter of re-appointment of Justice (R) Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday as an ad hoc judge for further one year and that of Justice (R) Rehmat Hussain Jafferi for two years.

The re-appointment issue, according to sources, unlike the previous unanimous decisions, could not be sorted out due to difference of opinion among the members, especially the opposition of Dr Khalid Ranjha, representative of top lawyers’ body, Pakistan Bar Council.

The resolution drew flak from the lawyers bodies, including Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). SCBA President Asma Jahangir and PBC Vice President Latif Afridi in their meeting with the Chief Justice of Pakistan on Friday, expressed their reservations over the resolution.

The Commission also took up the extension issue of nine additional judges of the Sindh High Court (SHC). It granted one-year extension to only six judges, including Justice Imam Bux Baloch, Justice Nisar Muhammad Sheikh, Justice Muhammad Tasneem, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Salman Hamid and Justice Muhammad Mazhar. However, Justice Abdul Hadi Khoso, Justice Zahid Hamid and Justice Zakir Hussain were not given extension.