JCP heads into crucial session with IHC seniority issue settled

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the seniority list of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges following a Supreme Court decision.

The Ministry of Law and Justice issued a formal notification on the matter, based on the Supreme Court’s June 19 ruling, which had declared the recent transfers of three judges to the IHC as legal and constitutional. The apex court had also referred the seniority determination to the president, who has now finalised the list.

According to the notification, Justice Sarfraz Dogar has been declared the senior-most judge of the IHC. He, along with Justices Khadim Hussain Soomro and Muhammad Asif, has also been confirmed as a permanent judge. This decision came just days before a crucial meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), which is scheduled for July 1.

Legal experts believe the president’s timely notification has paved the way for Justice Dogar’s elevation as the permanent Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, is scheduled to meet in Islamabad on Tuesday, July 1, to consider appointments of permanent chief justices for the Islamabad, Sindh, Peshawar, and Balochistan High Courts. The commission will likely propose one of the three most senior judges from each high court for elevation.

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With only one working day remaining before the meeting, legal analysts suggest that even if President Zardari’s decision is challenged in the Supreme Court, there would be insufficient time for a bench to be formed or a hearing to take place before the JCP session.

The seniority list of IHC judges is as follows:

1. Justice Sarfraz Dogar

2. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani

3. Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb

4. Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri

5. Justice Babar Sattar

6. Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq

7. Justice Arbab Tahir

8. Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz

9. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro

10. Justice Aazam Khan

11. Justice Muhammad Asif

12. Justice Inam Amin Minhas

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