LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the appointment of 10 additional judges to the Lahore High Court, clearing the way for a formal notification from the Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Once the notification is issued, the nominated judges will take oath at a ceremony to be held in the Judges’ Lawn of the Lahore High Court. Chief Justice Aalia Neelum will administer the oath.

According to sources, the nominees include Ghulam Sarwar Nahang, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Zahid, Amir Ajam Malik and Sheerin Imran. Also named are Asad Ali Bajwa, Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz, Khalid Bin Aziz and Munawar Iqbal Duggal, along with Syed Farhad Ali Shah and Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema.

The appointments are expected to help bring down the volume of pending litigation before the Lahore High Court and to make judicial business more efficient. With additional judges on the roll, the court will be able to constitute more benches to hear different categories of cases.

The Advocate General Punjab, Prosecutor General Punjab, Additional Attorney General and representatives of the Lahore High Court Bar and other bar bodies are expected to attend the oath-taking, along with the families of the incoming judges.

A revised seniority list for the high court is being drawn up following the appointments. Lawyers and litigants say they expect the strengthened bench to speed up hearings and judgments.