ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) will consider today (Tuesday) the proposed transfer of five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, amid indications that political considerations may influence the outcome despite internal reservations.
Sources told The News that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has expressed opposition to the transfer of two judges, but is still likely to support all proposed transfers when the matter is put to a vote in the commission.
According to sources, PPP members in the JCP have shared with some government members their reservations regarding the proposed posting of a judge to the Sindh High Court and another to the Balochistan High Court. However, government sources remain confident that PPP representatives will ultimately side with the government during voting.
In a related development, a day before the JCP meeting on Monday, one of the IHC judges whose transfer is under consideration reportedly wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The contents of the letter could not be independently verified.
The developments come against the backdrop of an already contentious proposal that has taken a new dimension. As previously reported, the plan under consideration includes posting the transferred judges to regional benches of their respective high courts rather than their principal seats.
The sources said that the commission will transfer the judges to different high courts from where they will be transferred to regional benches. As reported earlier, a judge, proposed for transfer to the Lahore High Court (LHC), is likely to be posted to either the Multan or Bahawalpur bench. Similarly, another judge, under consideration for transfer to the Peshawar High Court (PHC), is expected to be assigned to its Bannu bench.
Other judges in the proposed list are also expected to be posted to outlying benches if the transfers materialise. The proposal has triggered debate within judicial and legal circles. Even Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has opposed the move, cautioning that it could undermine judicial independence and set an undesirable precedent.
The proposal originated from IHC Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, who sought a JCP meeting to deliberate on the matter. Although the Chief Justice of Pakistan had declined to convene the meeting himself, the JCP secretary called a meeting for April 28 following a requisition by five commission members.
PPP Senator Farooq Naek, who is a member of the JCP, was asked if the PPP has reservations regarding the transfer of some high court judges. He was also asked if the PPP is opposed to the transfer of one judge to SHC and the other to BHC. Senator Naek was not available for comment.
