ISLAMABAD: The senior puisne judge of the Islamabad High Court on Thursday tried to dispel the perception that the judiciary stands divided.

“The judiciary will not tolerate fissures within its ranks,” Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani said while hearing a contempt of court petition.

The petition was filed by Hafiz Ehtesham against lawyer Imaan Mazari. The petitioner, who is known for frequent litigation, objected to remarks attributed to Imaan Mazari in a speech about judges.

Hafiz Ehtesham alleged that she implied “five judges” were “victims of division” and “working under pressure”.

Justice Kayani put a question to the petitioner: “Which five judges do you mean?” After Ehtesham named five judges — including Justice Kayani himself — the bench intervened immediately, warning him not to continue.

“There is no division in this court, and neither shall we allow any division,” Justice Kayani asserted.

The five judges are: Justices Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Saman Raffat Imtiaz.

He emphasised that if any judge believed their dignity had been undermined, they could choose to respond personally, but allowing others to speak on their behalf would create a misleading impression.

The judge said “there are good judges and incompetent judges”, but at the same time stressed that remarks like those made by Imaan Mazari fell within the domain of freedom of expression and should not be conflated with allegations of institutional discord.

The petitioner read aloud excerpts from Mazari’s speech delivered outside the National Press Club in an effort to substantiate his plea for contempt proceedings.

The bench, however, repeatedly questioned whether her comments crossed the legal threshold for contempt.

Justice Kayani observed that these days people consume information from multiple platforms ranging from traditional news outlets to YouTube vlogs and social media.

After hearing preliminary arguments, the court reserved its ruling on maintainability of the petition.

Pleasant change

Justice Kayani’s observations coincided with a notable change in atmosphere at the IHC. For the last few months, the five judges had refrained from attending official tea breaks hosted by Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar as they had challenged his transfer and subsequent elevation as IHC chief justice.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision on Sept 30 to overturn the chief justice’s interim order (Sept 16) barring Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri from performing judicial functions, the five judges rejoined Justice Dogar and other colleagues at a tea break on Wednesday for the first time in months.

According to sources privy to the development, the five judges maintained a reserved demeanour during Wednesday’s interaction, but appeared noticeably more relaxed during Thursday’s gathering.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2025