Justice Amin-ud-Din appointed Pak SC's 1st-ever constitutional bench head

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 comprise an equal number of judges from each province," the amended article states.

The newly created bench would consist of seven members, including its head, and all four provinces would have representation.