After SC judges, PTI's Senator Zafar urges CJP to postpone JCP meeting

• Zafar shows concerns over IHC judges' seniority controversy.
• PTI senator urges CJP to postpone Feb 10 sitting of JCP.
• Says serious objections in writing raised by siting judges.

ISLAMABAD: Amid growing dissident voices from within the judiciary, PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar has urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi to postpone the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting until the controversy surrounding the seniority of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges is settled.

In a letter to the CJP, the lawmaker, who is also a member of the judicial commission, on Sunday expressed concerns over the controversy surrounding the seniority of the IHC judges.

“Accordingly this is to request for postponing the meeting of the JCP scheduled to be held on 10th February 2025,” read the letter.

He was of the view that it was deeply concerning that serious objections in writing had been raised by five sitting judges of the IHC and four judges of the Supreme Court over the matter.

“It is also gravely concerning that these objections have exposed the transferred judges to unjust criticism pertaining to their impartiality and integrity,” he added.  

Earlier this month, President Asif Ali Zardari approved the transfer of one judge each from the Lahore, Sindh, and Balochistan High Courts to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) amid speculations that the capital court's next chief justice would be a "transferred judge".

On February 4, five judges of the capital sent a representation to the IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and CJP Afridi against placing them down on the seniority list. They were of the view that seniority should be determined from the date of the new oath. The fresh transfers to the IHC have changed the seniority list, creating unrest among the judges.

Earlier this week, four SC judges, including senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, requested the CJP to postpone new appointments at the apex court until adjudication of challenges to the Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 2024.

In a letter to the CJP, the top court judges requested: "The scheduled meeting and the appointment of the eight new Judges to the SC by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) be postponed till the challenge to the 26th Constitutional Amendment is decided one way or the other".

Besides Justice Shah, the letter was written by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Athar Minallah.

The apex court judges stated that the meeting should be postponed “at least until the constitutional bench decides the applications for convening a full court to hear and determine that challenge and till the matter of the transfer of judges to the IHC and their seniority is finally determined on the judicial side (since we are given to understand that such challenges have been launched)".

It is pertinent to mention here that terming the fresh postings of judges in the IHC "malicious" and an "attack" on the independence of the judiciary, three representative bar councils of the federal capital — the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), and Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA) — unanimously observed a strike and boycotted the proceedings of the high and district courts on February 3.