Permanent Chief Justices Appointed to High Courts

Following President Asif Ali Zardari’s approval, the Ministry of Law and Justice has released notifications confirming the permanent appointments of chief justices to all four of the nation’s high courts.

According to the official statement, Justice Sarfraz Dogar has been designated as the chief justice for the Islamabad High Court. Additionally, Justice Junaid Ghaffar has been appointed to the position of chief justice in the Sindh High Court.

In Balochistan, Justice Rozi Khan Bareech has been selected to serve as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court. Similarly, Justice Atiq Shah has been officially appointed as the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court.

This announcement occurs a week after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) put forward the nominations for permanent chief justices across these four high courts.

Earlier in February, a group of five IHC judges appealed to the highest court regarding the appointment of Justice Dogar as the acting chief justice of the IHC, as well as contesting the transfer of three high court judges to their jurisdiction.

The appeal was initiated by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz.

However, on June 19, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals challenging the judges’ transfer and affirmed Justice Dogar’s continued service as the acting chief justice of the IHC. Subsequently, the judges have filed a review petition, which is currently awaiting consideration.

Notably, the five IHC judges submitted an intra-court appeal (ICA) contesting the Supreme Court’s June 19 decision.

In their appeal, the judges have requested the court to recall and overturn the Constitutional Bench’s order, asserting that doing so would be in the interest of justice.

The petition further stated that during the appeal’s pending status, the court should consider granting interim relief as sought in the accompanying application, as well as any other relief deemed appropriate.