IHC withdraws contempt proceedings against PM in Aafia Siddiqui case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Monday withdrew contempt of court proceedings initiated against the prime minister and members of the federal cabinet in the case related to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, ruling that the earlier order had been issued by a bench not legally constituted.

A larger bench of the court set aside the July 21, 2025 order that had directed contempt proceedings, stating that the single bench which issued the ruling was not properly formed under the law.

In its written judgment, the larger bench said that under the rules, the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court is the “master of the roster” and holds exclusive authority to constitute benches. It said judicial authority to hear a case exists only when a bench has been lawfully formed by the chief justice.

The court further ruled that no judge could exercise jurisdiction unilaterally outside this framework. Any challenge to the roster or constitution of a bench, it said, must be raised through internal administrative procedures rather than through self-initiated judicial proceedings.

The judgment also cited observations by US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter regarding judicial authority and procedural propriety.

The contempt proceedings had originally been initiated by Justice Ijaz Ishaq Khan in connection with the high-profile case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist imprisoned in the United States.

With the latest ruling, the contempt action against the prime minister and cabinet members stands terminated.

Earlier, The Federal Constitutional Court put a hold on the IHC’s contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and federal ministers in the  Dr Aafia Siddiqui case.