Legal bodies allege corruption in Islamabad district judiciary, call for transfers

ISLAMABAD: Office-bearers of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, Islamabad Bar Council and Islamabad District Bar Association held a joint press conference, where they raised concerns over alleged corruption in the district judiciary and called for structural reforms.

Islamabad Bar Council member Raja Aalim Abbasi said the district judiciary in the capital was “the most polluted” and alleged widespread corrupt practices. “The district judiciary in Islamabad is the most affected,” he said, adding that complaints of corruption were being heard from multiple quarters.

Abbasi said a meeting of bar representatives had continued for three hours, during which the performance and functioning of the district judiciary were discussed in detail. He alleged that district judges were involved in corrupt practices and said “corruption-related complaints are coming from everywhere.”

He further claimed that civil and district judges were “openly involved in corrupt practices” and were operating without accountability.

In his remarks, Abbasi said a mechanism should be developed to transfer judges from the Islamabad district judiciary to other provinces as part of judicial reforms. He proposed that a judicial policy-making committee, including the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court and the Chief Justice of Pakistan, should design a transfer framework for lower judiciary judges.

He also demanded changes in the judicial appointment process, saying that postings to the Islamabad High Court should be made from lawyers registered with the Islamabad Bar. He argued that the court primarily serves Islamabad and should reflect representation from the local legal community.

“Islamabad High Court is not a federal constitutional court; it is a court for Islamabad,” he said, opposing external appointments to the institution.

The press conference was attended by representatives of the three bar bodies, who collectively called for reforms in the district judiciary and greater oversight of judicial appointments and transfers.