A Pakistani constitutional panel on Tuesday appointed Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan as head of the first-ever constitutional bench in the Supreme Court as mandated by a recent amendment that gave legislators more power in appointing the top judge.
The amendment passed last month created a body called the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) with powers to form a constitutional bench within the Supreme Court to deal with constitutional and political disputes.
The 12-member JCP met in Islamabad and appointed Justice Khan as head of the constitutional bench in the Supreme Court by a split decision of 7-5.
Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, who led the JCP, found himself with the minority, along with two more senior judges of the apex court and two representatives of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who were members of the panel.
Constitutional benches have been created at the Supreme Court through an amendment to Article 191-A. "There shall be a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, which may ...