ISLAMABAD: The five Islamabad High Court judges who had petitioned the Supreme Court over a seniority dispute were left with no recourse on Tuesday, as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) in a highly-anticipated move nominated Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar as the permanent chief justice of the high court.

The appointment of Justice Sarfraz Dogar as the new IHC chief justice was expected after President Asif Ali Zardari formally declared him the `seniormost judge` last week, following the issuance of a revised seniority list by the Ministry of Law.

Justice Dogar was transferred to the IHC from the Lahore High Court under Article 200(1) of the Constitution on Feb 1 this year.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, the 16-member JCP held four different meetings, also concerning the appointments of chiefjusticesfortheBalochistan High Court (BHC), Peshawar High Court (PHC), Sindh High Court (SHC).

But the appointment of theIHC CJ was peculiar, since it had evoked much interest among the legal fraternity in view of the representation by five IHC judges, and a constitutional petition filed before the Supreme Court.

For the IHC, the JCP had three nominees under consideration: Justice Dogar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

Justice Dogar received a total of nine votes, while Justice Aurangzeb was supported by the CJP, PTI members Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, as well as Islamabad High Court Council member Zulfikar Abbas.

Justice Mohsin Kayani received the votes of SC`s senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail did not vote for any nominee, stating that since he was a member of the Constitutional Bench, he preferred to abstain.

Justice Dogar, however, secured the support of the remaining members: Justice Aminuddin Khan, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Ahsan Bhoon, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, Rana Tanveer, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Roshan Khursheed Bharucha.

He is now expected to take oath in the next couple of days at the Presidency, as the JCP has already informed the principal secretary to the prime minister about his elevation.

As Tuesday`s session commenced, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who was connected via weblink from Tokyo (Japan), suggested postponing the meeting until the pendency of the intra-court appeal (ICA) filed on behalf of the five IHC judges against the Constitutional Bench`s June 19 judgement in the seniority dispute.

Initsshortorder,the CB,by a majority of three to two, had held that the transfer of three judges to the IHC from three different high courts was within the framework of the Constitution.

Subsequently, discussion ensued on the suggestion, with some members stating that sincethe seniority dispute had already been resolved, the JCP should proceed with the appointment process for the IHC.

Meanwhile, some members suggested that the JCP, as a constitutional body, could decide to put on hold the appointment of Justice Dogar as chief justice.

Others were of the view that until the ICA was finally decided, Justice Aurangzeb should be elevated as the acting chief justice of the IHC.

When the JCP commenced its proceedings, Justice Shah reiterated his earlier stance that the commission should wait until the vires of the 26th Constitutional Amendment were decided by theConstitutional Bench before addressing matters that directly flow from it.

Justice Shah also wrote a fresh letter to the JCP to highlight his point.

Earlier, the JCP also considered a letter from Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Mulakhail of the Balochistan High Court, who drew the commission`s attention to the fact that the participation of retired Justice Nazir Ahmad Lango as its member would violate the mandate of Article 175A(5) of the Constitution.

However, the commission, by majority, reappointed Justice Lango as a member of the com-mission and, in turn, nominated Justice Rozi Khan Barrech as the chief justice of the BHC. The names of Justice Mulakhail and Justice Iqbal Ahmed Kazi were also under consideration for the same post.

Justice S.M. Attique Shah was nominated as the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court. The names of Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali were also considered. PTI lawmakers and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa law minister opposed Justice Attique`s appointment.

Meanwhile, Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar was unanimously appointed chief justice of the Sindh High Court.