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Three provincial high court judges transferred to IHC


IHC gets two additional judges

ISLAMABAD: Judges from the Lahore, Sindh, and Balochistan high courts have been transferred to the Islamabad High Court, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice. 

President Asif Ali Zardari approved the transfers, including Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC), and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC). 

According to the LHC’s official website, Justice Dogar is the 15th senior judge at the LHC, appointed on June 8, 2015, and set to retire in July 2030.

Similarly, Justice Soomro, appointed in April 2023, ranks 26th in seniority at the SHC and will retire in 2037.

The third jugde in the row, Justice Muhammad Asif joined the BHC as an additional judge on January 20, 2025. 

The transfers came amid speculation over the potential elevation of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to the Supreme Court.  The reports also suggested that in view of the Justice Farooq’s elevation, appointment of a judge from another high court as the IHC’s chief justice is being considered.

The matter was also raised by senior IHC justices, including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, and others, who wrote to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and expressed their concerns.

On the other hand, Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) rules introduced after the 26th amendment allow the appointment of high court chief justices from among the five senior-most judges. 

Sources indicate that after Justice Farooq’s possible appointment to the Supreme Court, the newly transferred Justice Dogar would become the senior-most judge at the IHC.

Earlier in the day, the JCP approved 10 additional judges for the Peshawar High Court (PHC) instead of nine.

Judicial Commission to debate SC appointments one day earlier

The JCP approved the names of Abdul Fayyaz, Aurangzeb, Farah Jamshed, Qazi Jawad, Ahsanullah, Sibt ullah Khan, Sadiq Ali, Salhuddin, Mudassir Amir and Tariq Afridi as the additional judges for PHC.  

According to sources, the appointment of 10 additional judges to the PHC was approved by a majority. In the JCP meeting, members with dissenting opinions argued that the agenda had listed the appointment of nine additional judges, and therefore, the approval of 10 judges should not be granted.

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