Bilawal Bhutto and Rana Sanaullah named to Judicial Commission of Pakistan

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Rana Sanaullah, the prime minister's adviser on political affairs, have been appointed members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), ARY News reported on Friday 9 October. The notification was issued with the approval of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, who chairs the commission.

Whose seats they take

The two seats fell vacant when senior lawyer Farooq H. Naek and PML-N MNA Sheikh Aftab Ahmed resigned, both citing personal reasons. The new members were nominated by the leaders of the house in the Senate and the National Assembly under Article 175A(2)(vii) of the Constitution, which gives parliament seats on the commission.

The arrangement swaps the parties around:

• National Assembly seat: now held by the PPP, through Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
• Senate seat: now held by the PML-N, through Rana Sanaullah.

Both were appointed from the treasury benches.

What the Judicial Commission does

The JCP nominates judges for appointment to the superior courts, so its parliamentary members have a direct say in who becomes a judge.

The politics behind it

ARY News, citing sources, reported that the deadlock between the PML-N and PPP over cooperation on legislation has been resolved, and that the PPP will support the government on bills in both houses. A parliamentary committee on electoral reforms is also to be formed under PPP chairmanship, with every parliamentary party represented by its numbers in the house, according to the same sources. Neither party has made a formal statement on those points.

The appointments come during the PTI march on Islamabad that began on 5 October.