The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices to respondents in a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan pertaining to specific reservations about IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq. Earlier this week, the former prime minister had filed a petition through his lawyer expressing a lack of confidence in the bench of judges hearing the Toshakhana (gift repository) case, which includes Justice Aamer Farooq. In his petition, the PTI chief had expressed concerns that the bench may not be able to function in a fair and unbiased manner, and requested the chief justice to recuse himself from hearing the high-profile case and transfer it to another court.
Hearing the case, the IHC chief justice remarked that the objections of the Registrar office would be maintained against the petition and, so far, a number wouldn’t be issued for it. He further observed that the court did not want to set a wrong precedent which might affect the institution. The PTI chief’s lawyer took the stance that his client had instructed him to pursue this case. At this, the chief justice remarked that then the court will serve notices to the respondents and seek their comments.
The IHC CJ said that the court had given a detailed opinion in the Azam Swati case, adding that the bench would come to a logical conclusion if the petitioner wanted to pursue it. The court served notices to respondents and adjourned further hearing of the case.
