ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law and Justice has officially issued notifications confirming the permanent appointments of chief justices for all four high courts in Pakistan, following approval from President Asif Ali Zardari.
According to the notifications:
- Justice Sarfraz Dogar has been appointed Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
- Justice Junaid Ghaffar will serve as Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court.
- Justice Rozi Khan Bareech has been named Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court.
- Justice Atiq Shah has been appointed Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court.
These appointments come a week after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) formally recommended the nominees for permanent chief justices in all four provincial high courts.
The appointment of Justice Dogar to the IHC, however, has been the subject of recent legal challenges. In February, five judges of the IHC—Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz—filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging his appointment as acting chief justice and the transfer of three other judges to the IHC.
On June 19, the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, allowing Justice Dogar to continue in his role as acting chief justice. Subsequently, President Zardari formally recognized him as the senior-most judge of the IHC, based on a revised seniority list issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
Despite the court ruling, the five IHC judges later filed an intra-court appeal (ICA) against the Supreme Court’s decision. Their appeal urged the court to recall and overturn the earlier order “in the interest of justice,” and requested interim relief during the pendency of the case.
The legal process surrounding the IHC controversy remains ongoing, even as the permanent appointments mark a significant development in the judicial leadership of the country.
