PESHAWAR: The number of working judges at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has fallen to 17 following a delay in the issuance of a notification for the permanent appointment of four judges, while the court continues to face a growing backlog of cases.
According to sources, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan approved the permanent appointment of four Peshawar High Court judges on July 20. However, the summary concerning their confirmation has reportedly not yet been signed by the President of Pakistan.
As a result, the four judges have been stopped from performing judicial duties and cannot hear cases until the federal Ministry of Law issues the formal notification regarding their permanent appointment.
As the four judges are now not on duty, the total number of judges present on duty at Peshawar High Court is 17.
This issue has arisen at a time when the number of cases before the high court is rising. Statistics of Peshawar High Court show that 34,450 cases have already piled up until June 2026.
In addition, the court received 21,678 new cases in the first six months of the year, but disposed of 22,170 cases in the same period of time.
Although the disposal of more cases than the new cases filed, many cases are still pending before the court.
The situation has also been affected by the summer vacation, with designated benches currently hearing cases.
The delay in the permanent appointment of the four judges has raised concerns over the court’s judicial capacity at a time when it is already dealing with a substantial number of pending cases.
The formal notification from the federal Ministry of Law regarding the permanent appointment of the four judges is still awaited.
