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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday reassigned a long-running petition related to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, moving it from Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan to Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas as part of a new “Roster of Sitting” that takes effect from Sept 1, according to a court cause list.
The transfer comes weeks after Justice Ejaz Ishaq issued sweeping contempt of court notices to the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and his entire cabinet for alleged non-compliance with orders in the case.
On July 22, the judge issued the notices; however, that particular proceeding became questionable, as Justice Ejaz Ishaq was not included in the Roster of Sitting approved by Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar, since he was on a five-week leave effective from July 20.
Consequently, on July 24, the high court’s registrar put the processing of the contempt notices on hold while staff sought to determine whether they had been issued within jurisdiction.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan had previously tried to hold PM, his cabinet ‘in contempt’
Meanwhile, under the new roster, Justice Ejaz Ishaq has been placed on a special division bench with Justice Babar Sattar to hear tax references and related commercial matters, a posting that prevents members from sitting as single-judge courts.
As a result, petitions previously before him, including Dr Fowzia Siddiqui’s, have been transferred to other available judges.
The transfer may come as a sigh of relief for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet, who might have faced contempt proceedings under the previous judge.
The judicial reshuffle is part of a broader effort to create specialised benches.
On Aug 13, the IHC administration constituted four such benches for financial and commercial matters and a bench comprising Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan has been assigned to decide the “Commercial Litigation Corridor” related cases only.
A notification said their bench will adjudicate references filed under the Income Tax Ordinance, Sales Tax Act, Federal Excise Tax Act and Customs Act.
A specialised company bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz will take up matters under Section 5(4) of the Companies Act, 2017, as well as cases under Section 8(B) of the Corporate Restructuring Companies (Amendment) Act, 2021 and the SECP Act, 1997.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir has been designated as a single-judge bench to hear cases relating to educational institutions, including medical colleges.
In addition, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz will hear cases under the Financial Institution (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001, exercising the court’s original civil jurisdiction, as well as civil suits under the Privatisation Commission (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Dr Fowzia’s petition, which has been pending in the IHC since 2015, seeks to compel the government of Pakistan to formally support her sister Dr Aafia, who has been imprisoned in the US since 2008 on terrorism charges.
Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2025
