Judges resigned for their own sake: IHCBA leader

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) General Secretary Manzoor Ahmed Jajja has categorically rejected reports suggesting that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building is being shifted from the Constitution Avenue, terming such claims as “baseless rumours.”

Addressing a press aconference at the bar room, Jajja said the IHC building on Shahrah-e-Dastoor had been allotted after prolonged efforts led by former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui. “It took nearly 12 to 13 years to secure this building. It is not being moved to G-10 or anywhere else,” he clarified.

Jajja explained that judges of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) were offered multiple options for temporary office space, and it was the IHC Chief Justice who proposed on accommodating them in the IHC building. “The FCC judges have been accommodated here only on a temporary basis,” he said, adding that the IHC cannot be relocated unless the Chief Justice, IHC Bar and federal law minister all agree. He emphasized that Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar “has never taken any decision without taking the bar into confidence”.

The IHCBA secretary also spoke about the recent wave of judicial resignations. “We did not interfere in judges’ fights before, and we will not do so now,” he stated. “Judges resigned not for the nation or lawyers, but for themselves. More resignations may come, and new judges will replace them.”

Recalling earlier tensions, Jajja noted that in 2021 a faction of judges had formed their own group and even had lawyers sent to jails. “We learned our lesson. The bar will not become a part of any conflict between judges,” he added.