President Zardari approves appointments of additional high court judges, ending weeks-long impasse

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday approved the appointment of additional judges to five high courts, bringing an end to a weeks-long impasse over judicial appointments that had also prompted proceedings before the Islamabad High Court. According to a post by the President of Pakistan on X, President Zardari approved the appointment of additional judges to the Lahore, Sindh, Islamabad and Balochistan High Courts, as well as the confirmation of additional judges in the Lahore and Peshawar High Courts. The president approved the appointment of 10 additional judges to the Lahore High Court (LHC), three to the Sindh High Court (SHC), three to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and three to the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

صدرِ مملکت آصف علی زرداری نے مختلف ہائی کورٹس میں ایڈیشنل ججز کی تقرری اور بعض ایڈیشنل ججز کی توثیق کی منظوری دے دی۔ صدرِ مملکت نے لاہور ہائی کورٹ، سندھ ہائی کورٹ، پشاور ہائی کورٹ، اسلام آباد ہائی کورٹ اور بلوچستان ہائی کورٹ میں ایڈیشنل ججز کی تقرری کی منظوری دی۔ صدرِ مملکت نے… — The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) August 11, 2026 He also approved the confirmation of four additional judges of the PHC and one additional judge of the LHC. The President’s Office said Zardari had signed all the relevant summaries. The development came a day after the IHC sought written reports from the federal government and the Ministry of Law on the status of the pending judges’ appointment summaries.

The court had been hearing a petition filed against the delay in approving the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s recommendations for appointments to the high courts. At Monday’s hearing, the IHC had directed the government to explain when the summaries were forwarded to the president and what action had been taken on them. Background The latest legal challenge came against the backdrop of an increasingly contentious constitutional debate over the president's role in judicial appointments.

President Zardari had neither approved the Judicial Commission's recommendations nor returned the summary with objections, prompting questions over whether the Constitution permitted an indefinite delay in acting on judicial appointments. While the Supreme Court (SC) had previously r… The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the federal government and the Ministry of Law and Justice, seeking written reports on the delay by the president in approving summaries for the appointment of judges to the IHC and provincial high courts.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir directed the deputy attorney general to ensure that the federal government and the ministry submit brief reports specifying the date on which the prime minister sent the summary for the appointment of judges to the president. The court also directed them to explain whether any action had been taken on the summary and, if so, what action was taken. It further sought an explanation of the constitutional consequences of keeping a summary for the appointment of judges pending for an indefinite period.

The court also issued a notice to Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan to assist it as amicus curiae in the matter. Justice Tahir heard a petition challenging the president's failure to approve the summary for the appointment of new judges to the IHC and other provincial high courts. On July 21, the PPP failed to secure approval for any of its preferred nominees for appointment as high court judges, as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) cleared 19 appointments and confirmations across four high courts during meetings chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.