The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has announced a significant restructuring of its judicial benches for the coming week, following the approval of a new duty roster by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar. According to the schedule issued by the IHC Registrar, the court’s operations will be conducted through nine single-member benches and five two-judge division benches to hear a variety of cases.
A key feature of this reshuffle is the dissolution of the single benches previously presided over by Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan. Both judges have been reassigned to constitute a special division bench dedicated to adjudicating tax-related matters. This administrative move has necessitated the reallocation of all cases that were originally slated to be heard by these two judges.
The reassignment includes several high-profile cases, most notably that of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Her case has been officially transferred from the court of Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan to the bench of Justice Inam Amin Minhas. This development is particularly noteworthy as it follows recent assertive actions by Justice Khan, who had issued contempt of court notices to the Prime Minister and the entire federal cabinet, demanding their response by the first of September.
