The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday approved the transfer of three judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to other high courts.
According to an official handout, Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi chaired a meeting of the commission at the Supreme Court.
The statement said the commission approved the transfer of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiani to the Lahore High Court (LHC), the transfer of Justice Babar Sattar to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the transfer of Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz to the Sindh High Court (SHC). The statement said that the transfers were approved by the majority.
The JCP also decided that any vacancy arising as a result of the transfer of a judge from a high court “shall be filled through transfer only”, and such a vacancy “shall not, in any manner, be treated as a vacancy for initial appointment”, the handout said.
The statement also said that the member who had requisitioned the meetings for the proposed transfer of Justice Arbab M. Tahir from the IHC to the Balochistan High Court, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the IHC to the SHC, “withdrew the respective proposals”.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, who also serves as chairman of the JCP, had earlier raised serious constitutional concerns over the prospect of transferring judges from the IHC.
In his response to informal requests by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, the CJP had warned that such transfers could undermine federalism and equitable representation, reducing judicial appointments to temporary and reversible administrative decisions.
The IHC chief justice had also sought a JCP meeting to consider the transfer of five judges, and while the CJP initially declined to endorse the proposal, a requisition signed by five JCP members was submitted on April 7. Under Article 175A(22) of the Constitution, the chairman must convene a meeting within 15 days upon such a request. Hence, a JCP meeting was held.