Three newly appointed judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) were sworn in as permanent judges on Monday. Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar administered the oath to the three judges — Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, Justice Muhammad Asif, and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas — during a ceremony at the IHC building. The event commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran and the national anthem, followed by the Registrar of the high court reading the official notification of the judges’ appointments.
The ceremony was attended by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, judges from the high court and district court, and members of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA). The federal government had previously notified the appointment of these three additional judges of the IHC as permanent judges, following a recommendation for confirmation by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on January 12.
As per the notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, and to be published in the Gazette of Pakistan (Part-III), President appointed Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, Justice Muhammad Asif, and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas as judges of the IHC with effect from the date they took their oath of office.
During the JCP proceedings, it was revealed that out of 17 members, each of the three judges secured 13 votes. Two Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) members were absent from the meeting, while Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Kayani did not vote in favor of the confirmations. Justice Khan and Justice Minhas were initially appointed as additional judges of the IHC on January 17 last year. Justice Asif was first appointed as an additional judge of the Balochistan High Court on the same date but was later transferred to the IHC along with incumbent Chief Justice Dogar and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro of the Sindh High Court.
Official data presented during the confirmation process highlighted that Justice Minhas led in case disposal in 2025, resolving 2,039 cases as a single bench. Justice Khan handled 1,841 cases, while Justice Asif disposed of 1,338 cases.
