Lawyers Panel Launches Movement Over JCP Judge Appointments
The Lawyers Action Committee has announced a nationwide movement after rejecting the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s current procedure for appointing judges to high courts. The development, reported from Islamabad on July 18, 2026, places the country’s legal community back at the centre of a major political and constitutional debate.
The committee strongly criticised the appointment process, arguing that the system has become vulnerable to political bargaining and influence rather than being driven by professional ability, integrity and judicial competence. Its resolution claimed that recent constitutional changes have already damaged public confidence in the justice system, while the latest appointment procedures have deepened those concerns.
A major decision from the meeting was the nomination of veteran lawyer and former Supreme Court Bar Association president Ali Ahmed Kurd to lead the planned movement. Kurd accepted the role and said the campaign would seek to involve the public because ordinary citizens are the real stakeholders in a justice system that affects rights, accountability and access to remedies.
Senior lawyers including Hamid Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed and Abid Shahid Zuberi were present during the announcement, signalling that the campaign has the backing of several prominent voices within the legal fraternity. Kurd also said the committee plans to begin its public outreach in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and later raise the issue before overseas Pakistanis through a programme in London.
The committee’s resolution urged members of the Judicial Commission to resist any process they believe undermines judicial independence. It alleged that high court appointments are increasingly being treated like political nominations, with candidates gaining advantage through group alignments, party influence or financial power rather than transparent merit-based evaluation.
The lawyers’ body also criticised the interview mechanism for judicial candidates, saying important parts of the process are being conducted away from public scrutiny. It claimed that some commission members have been kept out of the interview committee, creating concern that unsuitable candidates could be advanced without sufficient institutional checks.
The announcement carries historical weight because Pakistan has seen lawyer-led mobilisation shape national politics before. Kurd was among the key figures of the 2007 lawyers’ movement, which emerged after then president Pervez Musharraf removed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, triggering a campaign that became a defining moment in the country’s judicial and democratic history.
Beyond judicial appointments, the committee also raised concerns about terrorism and insecurity in Balochistan, calling for a fact-finding commission to examine grievances in troubled areas. Its resolution argued that heavy-handed governance has alienated communities and created conditions that deepen resentment, violence and mistrust between citizens and the state.
The LAC also referred to the detention of lawyers and political figures, including Imaan Mazari, Hadi Ali Chattha, Imran Khan, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mahrang Baloch and Ali Wazir, while criticising what it described as institutional silence over dissent-related cases. It further demanded timely bar elections, Nadra-based verification, removal of fake-degree holders from lawyers’ rolls and curbs on dual voting in bar associations.
The movement could place renewed pressure on the judiciary, the federal government and bar councils at a time when debates over constitutional amendments, judicial independence and political rights remain highly charged. The next major test will be whether the committee can convert its resolution into sustained public mobilisation across provinces and whether state institutions respond with dialogue or confrontation.