IHC gets three new judges, gazette notification issued

ISLAMABAD: The Gazette notification for the transfer of three judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been issued following approval from President Asif Ali Zardari, ARY News reported on Sunday.

According to the Gazette notification issued by the Establishment Division, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar has been transferred from the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Sindh High Court’s (SHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro has also been transferred to the Islamabad High Court.

Furthermore, Justice Muhammad Asif has been transferred from the Balochistan High Court to the Islamabad High Court.

Earlier, the Judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had written a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi, outlining their concerns regarding the appointment of the chief justice (CJ) of the court.

The IHC judges have requested that the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court should be appointed from among the three senior judges of the court itself, rather than bringing in a judge from another high court.

They have also emphasised the need for providing reasons for bringing in a judge from another high court, the sources said.

They added that the letter, which was also copied to the Chief Justices of the Sindh High Court and the Lahore High Court, has been signed by several judges, including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

Similarly on Janauary 18, the Ministry of Law and Justice appointed two additional judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari.

The ministry notified Muhammad Azam Khan and Inaam Ameen Minhas as additional judges of the IHC. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan held two meetings on January 17—one for considering the nominations for the appointment of Additional Judges in the Islamabad High Court and the second for considering the nominations for the appointment of additional judges in the High Court of Balochistan.