IHC: Newly-transferred judges assume charge amid lawyers’ protest

ISLAMABAD: Three newly-transferred judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Monday, assumed charge of their offices while lawyers boycotted the court’s proceedings.

After assuming charge of their offices, the judges including Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar previously serving in Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) started hearing of cases in their respective courts.

Additional Attorney General Munawar Dogal, Deputy Attorney General Abdul Khaliq Thand and Advocate General Islamabad welcomed the new judges at their courts.

In the meantime, the additional registrar issued new seniority list of the judges which shows that Justice Sarfraz Dogar is now senior puisne judge while Justice Kayani is now at number three in seniority list.

Justice Dogar heard three cases while Justice Soomro heard two petitions which were listed in the cause lists of their benches.

The registrar’s office also issued the cause list for the court of Justice Muhammad Asif, who was transferred from BHC to IHC.

Earlier, the president of Pakistan approved the transfer of one judge each from the Lahore, Sindh, and Balochistan High Courts to the IHC. Following this approval, the Federal Ministry of Law has issued the official notification.

Meanwhile, the majority of lawyers boycotted the court’s proceedings and did not appear before the court during the hearing of cases scheduled at the IHC to record their protest against the transfer of three judges from other high courts.

According to the details, the IHC witnessed a significant disruption in its proceedings as majority of the lawyers decided not to appear before the courts on the strike call of Islamabad High Court Bar Association.

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

Justice Miangul Hassan’s court concluded 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 Saman Rafat Imtiaz.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025