Office-bearers of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), and Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA) held a joint press conference on Tuesday, raising serious concerns over alleged corruption in the district judiciary and calling for structural reforms. They also demanded that appointments to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) should be made exclusively from lawyers registered with the Islamabad Bar.
Allegations of Widespread Corruption
Raja Aaleem Abbasi, a member of the Islamabad Bar Council, described the district judiciary in the capital as "the most polluted" and alleged widespread corrupt practices. "The district judiciary in Islamabad is the most affected," he stated, adding that complaints of corruption were being received from multiple quarters. Abbasi revealed that a meeting of bar representatives had lasted three hours, during which the performance and functioning of the district judiciary were discussed in detail. He alleged that district judges were involved in corrupt practices and said "corruption-related complaints are coming from everywhere." He further asserted that civil and district judges were "openly involved in corrupt practices" and were operating without accountability.
Proposed Reforms and Transfer Mechanism
Abbasi proposed the development of a mechanism to transfer judges from the Islamabad district judiciary to other provinces as part of judicial reforms. He suggested that a judicial policy-making committee, comprising the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court and the Chief Justice of Pakistan, should design a transfer framework for lower judiciary judges. This move, he argued, would help address the systemic issues plaguing the district judiciary.
Demand for Local Appointments to IHC
Abbasi also demanded changes in the judicial appointment process, insisting that postings to the Islamabad High Court should be made from lawyers registered with the Islamabad Bar. He argued that the court primarily serves Islamabad and should reflect representation from the local legal community. "Islamabad High Court is not a federal constitutional court; it is a court for Islamabad," he said, opposing external appointments to the institution.
The press conference was attended by representatives of the three bar bodies, who collectively called for reforms in the district judiciary and greater oversight of judicial appointments and transfers. They emphasized the need for accountability and transparency to restore public confidence in the judiciary.
