It has been seven months since the Islamabad High Court (IHC) became functional under the 18th Amendment, but offices of four judges of the IHC still lie vacant.
According to the 18th Amendment, the Islamabad High Court was to have the chief justice and six other judges – one from each province, one from Islamabad capital territory and one from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Furthermore, the chief justice was also to be appointed on a rotation basis.
Currently, three judges, including the chief justice, are performing duty in the IHC. Talking to APP, Islamabad High Court Bar Association President Chaudhry Ashraf Gujar said the purpose of the creation of the court was to facilitate litigants, but they were still facing problems due to the shortage of judges. He said that around 8,500 cases were transferred from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench to the IHC after its re-establishment, but many were still pending as more judges could not be appoint so far.