President approves appointment of additional judges

NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday approved the appointment of additional judges to five high courts, confirmation of some additional judges as permanent judges of the judiciary, and revisions to the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges.

The appointments cover the Lahore, Sindh, Peshawar, Islamabad and Balochistan high courts, according to a statement issued by the President’s Media Wing.

The President also approved the confirmation of certain additional judges of the Lahore and Sindh high courts as permanent judges.

In a separate decision, the President approved aligning the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges with those of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court. He also approved amendments to a 1997 order governing the leave, pensions and other benefits and privileges of high court judges.

Apart from this, President Asif Ali Zardari also approved the appointment of Haroon Akhtar as Adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Industries and Production.