PHC faces shortage of 11 judges

Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) President Khawaja Muhammad Khan said on Monday that the bar had proposed the names of 19 lawyers and sessions judges for their appointment as the Peshawar High Court (PHC) judges.Talking to the media, Khan hoped that new judges would be appointed during the next two weeks. He said that so far there were 16 judges at the PHC, but only five of them were functional.To a question, he said that senior lawyers did not want to join judiciary as the judges were removed over various charges.He said that a permanent bench of the Supreme Court should be established in Peshawar to decide the pending cases.Khan said the burden on PHC had significantly been reduced after the establishment of a circuit bench at Mingora. He criticised the killing of lawyers in Karachi and demanded the arrest of the killers.