Islamabad:
Judge Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan of the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) took note of the cancellation of the list of causes of his court and the transfer of a business to a wider bench.
He initiated the outrage to legal proceedings and asked for answers to the assistant registrar of the IHC and the Advocate General.
The case appeared after all the cases related to the prison meetings of Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI), the founder, Imran Khan, were to be heard before a bench of three members, led by the acting chief Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar, Thursday (today).
Judge Khan initiated the procedure after a case of contempt in the court – submitted to Mashal Yousafzai de Pti against the Superintendent of Adiala prison was struck off.
In response to the Court’s opinion, the deputy registrar Sultan Mahmood appeared before the judge and said that the instructions came from the office of the chief judge.
The court wondered if the chief judge had the power to transfer a case pending before a judge without his consent. Judge Khan noted that the rules of the court did not mention such powers and had raised concerns concerning the implications of these actions.
He noticed that if, hypothetically, there was “a very corrupt chief in the future”, such an authority could open the doors to corruption and nepotism. He also declared that this action was “deceiving the court of justice”.
Expressing frustration, the judge pointed out that if the state insisted to enforce his will, then his presence in court would use nothing. He also asked if a judge depended on the registrar’s office to decide on the business to be heard.
The deputy registrar Mahmood replied that the case had been sent back to the office of the chief judge for instructions. Judge Khan argued that the actions of the largest bench constituted an outrage of the procedure of his court.
PTI lawyer, Shoaib Shaheen, stressed that the state and superintendent of the prison were not even parties to the case. Yousafzai added that if such actions took place in a public hearing, this raised concerns about the treatment of the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, and his wife, Bushra Bibi, inside the prison.
Judge Khan replied: “We are worried about our own institution,” adding that “the guided missile” which initially aimed at it was now heading for the judicial power itself. The court then postponed the hearing until Thursday (today).
Meanwhile, a bench of three members, led by the acting chief judge, Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar, and including judge Arbab Muhammad Tahir and judge Azam Khan, should hear all the cases related to meetings of the PTI founder prison today.
The Court of Court of the Court concerning the meeting refused by Yousafzai with Imran Khan is also one of the planned hearings. The case was originally scheduled for Wednesday before judge Khan, but was withdrawn from the list of causes.
