Judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, raising concerns over recent media reports suggesting that a transferred judge might be considered for appointment as the chief justice of the federal territory’s court.
The letter was signed by IHC’s senior puisne judge, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, along with Justices Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Saman Rafat Imtiaz, and Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.
Conventionally, the senior puisne judge of a high court is appointed as the chief justice. However, following the enactment of the 26th Amendment, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) introduced new rules last year allowing for the bypassing of the seniority criterion.
“We, the undersigned justices of the Islamabad High Court, are writing in response to widely reported news in the media—also addressed by multiple bar associations—that a justice from the Lahore High Court is to be transferred to the Islamabad High Court. This transferred judge would then be considered for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court,” the judges wrote.
The letter pointed out that the 26th Constitutional Amendment had not institutionalized the transfer mechanism for high court judges between provinces as originally proposed in its draft versions.
Despite significant reforms introduced through the 26th Amendment, the legislature did not incorporate provisions for permanent transfers into the constitutional framework as initially envisioned.
“Article 200 remained unchanged. The principle of each court being separate and autonomous within the federal structure has been upheld,” the judges stated.
