First day of the February witnessed a notification of Ministry of Law and Justice transferring one judge each from Lahore High Court, Sindh High Court and Balochistan High Court to Capital’ High Court.
As per the notification, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Muhammad Asif of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) have been transferred to Islamabad High Court (IHC).
A private television reported that judges of the IHC on Friday penned a letter to the Chief Justices of Supreme Court and High Courts expressing concerns over the appointment of a transferred judge to the IHC’s top slot. They urged in the correspondence to take a stand and resist such a development.
According to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) new rules which came into effect last year, the seniority criterion was not followed to appoint the top-most judge. The JCP proposed that the Chief Justice of a High Court could be appointed from among the panel of five senior-most judges. Senior puisne judge of the IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justices Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Saman Rafat Imtiaz signed the letter. The names of Justices Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb were also in the letter but didn’t bear their signatures.
The television channel reported earlier that the decision of this transfer had been made in a high-level meeting which was held in Islamabad. It was attended by senior judicial officials and government ministers. Judicial sources confirmed that consultations with the LHC Chief Justice had been completed, while correspondence with the Sindh and Balochistan High courts regarding the transfers was in final stages.
It has been reported that Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar from the LHC would be transferred to the IHC where he will serve as a senior judge. Following the expected elevation of the IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to the Supreme Court, Justice Dogar is likely to be appointed as the next Chief Justice.
