IHC demotes officer, repatriates other

Illegal appointments case

Islamabad lawyers launch signature campaign
seeking resignation of IHC Chief Justice Anwar Kasi

ISLAMABAD: In pursuance of the Supreme Court’s Sept 26 order in the IHC illegal appointments case, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has demoted one officer and repatriated another.

Additional Registrar Establishment Amer Saleem Rana with the approval of IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi has notified repatriation of Muhammad Siddique to the district courts and demoted a librarian, Muhammad Asif Iqbal, from Grade 19 to Grade 18.

These notifications were issued on the recommendations of a three-member judges committee comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Athar Minallah.

The Supreme Court, through its September 26 order, had formed the committee to examine all appointments, promotions and absorptions of deputationists in the IHC.

One Muhammad Siddique, who was senior superintendent in BPS-17 in the court of district and sessions judge-west was appointed on March 29, 2013 in the IHC.

Through the notification Muhammad Siddique has been repatriated to the district & sessions judge court.

Asif Iqbal was promoted from Grade 18 to Grade 19 on July 2, 2012. He has been demoted to Grade 18 once again.

Separately, as a routine exercise, Registrar IHC Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan has transferred six civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates from the IHC to the civil district & session division-east and west.

Muhammad Shabbir, Muhammad Inamullah and Imran Khan Sikandari have been transferred to the civil district & session division-east while Shaukat Rehman Khan, Muhammad Adnan Jamali and Sanam Bokhari to the civil district & session division-west.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad lawyers have launched a ‘signature campaign’ seeking assent of colleagues to pass a resolution in the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) seeking the resignation of IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi.

This resolution will be presented in the general body meeting of the IHCBA to be held next week.

Lawyers have been demanding that Justice Kasi should step down following in the footsteps of the former IHC chief justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and who resigned as the Supreme Court judge following the apex court’s September 26 order that declared that illegal appointments were made in the IHC when he was chief justice and during the tenure of the incumbent chief justice as well.