The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended on Friday the appointment of Justice (retd) Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice (retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel as a Supreme Court ad hoc judge for a year, sources said.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa presided over the JCP meeting in Islamabad.

The JCP consists of the CJP as chairman, four senior judges of the Supreme Court, one former chief justice or an SC judge nominated by the chairman in consultation with four member judges for two years, the attorney general for Pakistan, the federal law minister and a senior advocate of apex court nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council.

The commission nominates a name for the appointment as the SC judge in the majority after evaluating “professional competency and antecedents,” according to the top court. The recommendations are sent to the parliamentary committee.

Sources said Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi opposed the appointment of Justice (retd) Miankhel. His appointment was approved by a 6:3 majority.

Meanwhile, Justice (retd) Masood’s appointment was approved by an 8:1 majority, with Justice Akhtar in opposition, they added.

According to the government, such appointments are made to clear the backlog of cases. They have rejected the opposition’s impression that ad hoc judges were appointed to influence the review petition against the reserved seats case.