LAHORE: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) have defended the transfer of Islamabad High Court’s judges, claiming that the move does not amount to an attack on judicial independence.

At a joint press conference held on Thursday, the office-bearers of the PBC and the PbBC, at present led by the Ahsan Bhoon-led independent group, rejected the criticism on the judicial commission’s decision to transfer the judges.

PBC Vice Chairman Pir Masood Chishti along with PbBC Vice Chairman Khawaja Qaiser Butt and other representatives said all had been done in light of the Constitution.

Chishti said the Parliament had the authority to amend the Constitution and that the judicial commission was established under a constitutional provision.

“We cannot move forward without the Constitution,” he added.

He argued that if a civil judge can be transferred from Lahore to Rahim Yar Khan, the transfer of a high court judge should not be considered unusual.

“Has any civil judge ever refused to serve away from home?” he asked, adding that judges from Islamabad should also be willing to serve in other regions.

He said in the past, cases were not being fixed for hearing in the Supreme Court, while appeals in the Lahore High Court were now being decided without delay.

“Earlier, people would die without their appeals being heard, but now justice is being delivered,” he claimed, adding that cases in the Federal Constitutional Court were fixed within a week.

Chishti announced that the lawyers would not allow the issue to be politicised.

Qaiser Butt also defended the transfers of the IHC judges, claiming that both lawyers and litigants have benefited since the 26th and 27th amendments were introduced.

“The fruits of these amendments are reaching the public,” he asserted.

He expressed regret over remarks made about the chief justice of Pakistan during a press conference held the other day by the leaders of the Hamid Khan-led professional group.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) had disapproved the transfer of the IHC judges, announcing to challenge the move before the Supreme Court.

JI chief opposes

Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday rejected the 26th and 27th amendments, terming them contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, principles of justice, and, in certain respects, Shariah.

He also strongly opposed the transfer of judges and the granting of immunity to powerful individuals, warning that such measures undermine judicial independence.

Addressing the General Council meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, he said attempts to weaken the constitution and judiciary were alarming, adding that successive governments had failed to tolerate an independent judiciary and had resorted to various tactics to exert pressure on it.

“Judges’ transfers, pressure on courts, and granting exemptions are direct attacks on the justice system,” he said.

The event was attended by Bar President Babar Murtaza Khan, Secretary General Qasim Ejaz Samra, JI Lahore chief Ziauddin Ansari, and President of Islamic Lawyers Movement Asad Manzoor Butt, along with a large number of lawyers. Later, the JI chief visited a membership camp set up outside the court and directed party workers to accelerate the campaign. He said the party aimed to enroll five million members and establish 20,000 public committees, after which it would intensify its struggle for public rights.

He also announced nationwide protests on Friday against rising petroleum and electricity prices. Referring to the 2007 lawyers’ movement, he said the legal fraternity and political forces had united in support of former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, but added that the judiciary later failed to play an effective role, weakening the movement’s gains.

He criticised mainstream political parties for lacking internal democracy and promoting dynastic and personality-based politics, arguing that genuine democratic practices could be seen in Jamaat-i-Islami and bar associations.

“A handful of families, feudal lords, and capitalists have captured political parties,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2026