Acting president approves transfer of three IHC judges

ISLAMABAD: Acting President Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday approved the transfer of three judges from the Islamabad High Court on the advice of the prime minister, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law.

The notification said the transfers were made under Article 200(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and followed a recommendation by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

Under the approved transfers, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has been moved to the Lahore High Court, Justice Babar Sattar to the Peshawar High Court, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz to the Sindh High Court.

Law ministry notification

The Ministry of Law set out the constitutional basis and the names of the judges in its formal notification issued on Wednesday.

The notification identified the acting president as the approving authority for the transfers and stated that the decision was taken on the prime minister’s advice.

The three judges were serving at the Islamabad High Court before the approval of their transfer to the provincial high courts.

Justice Kayani will now serve at the Lahore High Court, Justice Sattar at the Peshawar High Court, and Justice Imtiaz at the Sindh High Court, as specified in the law ministry’s notification.

The development comes after the JCP recommended the transfers, according to the notification.

No further details were included in the notification cited in the report beyond the constitutional provision invoked, the JCP recommendation, and the names of the judges and the courts to which they have been transferred.

The approval was issued on Wednesday and formally communicated through the Ministry of Law.

The transfers involve three judges of the Islamabad High Court and place each of them in a different provincial high court.

The law ministry notification used the abbreviations LHC, PHC and SHC for the Lahore High Court, Peshawar High Court and Sindh High Court, respectively.

The move marks an official step in implementing the JCP recommendation through the constitutional mechanism cited in the notification.