Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the permanent appointments of chief justices for all four high courts in the country. Following his approval, the Ministry of Law and Justice officially issued notifications confirming the new appointments.
According to the notification, Justice Sarfraz Dogar has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), while Justice Junaid Ghaffar will lead the Sindh High Court.
Justice Rozi Khan Bareech has been named Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, and Justice Atiq Shah will serve as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court.
These appointments come shortly after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended permanent chief justices for the four high courts in its recent session.
It is worth noting that earlier this year, five judges of the Islamabad High Court had filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Justice Dogar as acting chief justice and the transfer of three judges to the IHC.
The petitioners included Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz.
However, the Supreme Court dismissed these petitions on June 19 and allowed Justice Dogar to continue as the acting chief justice of the IHC.
Following this, the Ministry of Law and Justice revised the seniority list, and President Zardari formally declared Justice Dogar the “senior-most judge” of the IHC, clearing the way for his permanent appointment.
In response, the five judges filed an intra-court appeal (ICA), requesting the apex court to set aside the June 19 verdict in the interest of justice and grant interim relief during the appeal process.
