80pc lawyers skip IHC hearings amid judges' transfer issue

ISLAMABAD: The majority of lawyers skipped the hearing of cases scheduled at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday to record their protest against the transfer of three judges from other high courts, ARY News reported.

As per details, IHC witnessed a significant disruption in its proceedings as over 80% of the lawyers decided against appearing before the court on the strike call of Islamabad High Court Bar Association.

In Chief Justice Amir Farooq’s courtroom, one case was scheduled for hearing, but lawyers were absent. Similarly, in Justice Mohsin Kayani’s court, some cases proceeded with the appearance of petitioners, while others had no legal representation.

Justice Gul Hassan’s court had to conclude its list of cases prematurely due to the absence of lawyers.

Despite the ongoing strike, some lawyers attended hearings in the courts of Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Arbab Tahir and Justice Sameen Rafat.

Read more: IHC gets three new judges, gazette notification issued

The strike is a direct response to the ‘controversial’ decision regarding judicial transfers.

On Sunday, the Gazette notification for the transfer of three judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was issued following approval from President Asif Ali Zardari.

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 had also been transferred to the Islamabad High Court.

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