A judge each from high courts of Lahore, Sindh and Balochistan transferred to Islamabad
Islamabad Bar Council announces 'movement' to 'resist unjustified transfers'
Pakistan’s president approved on Saturday the transfer of three judges to the federal capital’s top court, despite the court’s judges' warning against such a move.
According to the notification, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar has been transferred from the Lahore High Court to the Islamabad High Court, while Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court and Justice Muhammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court have also been reassigned to the IHC.
A copy of the notification announcing the transfers of the judges to the IHC.
The move comes a day after five judges of the IHC penned a strongly worded letter to President Asif Ali Zardari opposing what they describe as an unconstitutional attempt to reshape their court's leadership through the transfer of judges from other provinces.
The IHC judges, some of whom made headlines last year for exposing alleged intelligence agency interference in judicial matters, warned that the plan to transfer judges from other high courts to Islamabad could undermine judicial independence and set a "pernicious precedent" with far-reaching consequences.
"Such a permanent transfer of a judge to the Islamabad High Court would be against the spirit of the Constitution, detrimental for the independence of judiciary, usurpation of established judicial norms, and also wholly unjustifiable," the judges wrote in their letter to President Asif Ali Zardari and top judicial officials.
Bar council announces 'movement'
Following the confirmation of the transfers, the Islamabad Bar Council issued a statement denouncing the transfers, and announcing a movement to "resist such unjustified transfers that disregard the fundamental principles of judicial autonomy and regional representation".
"This decision is an affront to the independence of the judiciary and undermines the rights and representation of the legal fraternity in Islamabad," the statement read.
The bar council called for an emergency general session with the cabinets of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association and the Islamabad District Bar Association, "to deliberate on the future course of action regarding this pressing matter".
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