Amid growing dissent within the judiciary, PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar has called on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi to postpone the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting until the ongoing controversy over the seniority of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges is resolved.
In a letter addressed to the CJP, Zafar, who is also a member of the judicial commission, expressed concern over the issue, stating that the matter should be settled before proceeding with the scheduled JCP meeting on February 10, 2025.
“It is deeply concerning that serious objections have been raised in writing by five sitting judges of the IHC and four judges of the Supreme Court regarding this matter,” Zafar stated. He further noted that the controversy has subjected the transferred judges to undue criticism over their impartiality and integrity.
The dispute follows President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent approval of the transfer of one judge each from the Lahore, Sindh, and Balochistan High Courts to the IHC, sparking speculation that the next chief justice of the capital’s high court could be a transferred judge.
On February 4, five IHC judges formally objected to their placement on the seniority list in a letter to IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and CJP Afridi, arguing that seniority should be determined from the date of their new oath. The transfers have altered the seniority hierarchy, causing unrest among judges.
Earlier this week, four Supreme Court judges, including senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, urged the CJP to delay new appointments to the apex court until the challenge to the Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 2024, is resolved.
In their letter, Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar, Ayesha A. Malik, and Athar Minallah requested that the JCP meeting be postponed at least until the constitutional bench decides on convening a full court to hear the amendment challenge and until the judicial side determines the IHC judges’ seniority dispute.
Meanwhile, three key bar councils in Islamabad—the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), and Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA)—have strongly opposed the recent judicial transfers. Terming the move “malicious” and a direct “attack” on judicial independence, they unanimously observed a strike and boycotted proceedings in high and district courts on February 3.
