President sends reference against 6 PCO judges of High Courts to SJC

President Asif Ali Zardari has sent reference against 6 PCO judges of the High Courts to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The judges include Syed Shabbir Raza Rizvi, Hamid Ali Shah, Hasnaat Ahmed Khan, Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah, Yasmeen Abbasi and Jahanzaib Raheem. Four of the judges were of Lahore High Court while one judge of Sindh High Court and one of Peshawar High Court. The President sent this reference on the directive of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the reference was also recommended by the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Court of contempt case is being heard in the Supreme Court against these judges. Supreme Courts decision of July 31 also affected these judges; these judges were performing their duties in High Courts those days but these judges were not included in any bench.