AFTER receiving a warm and cordial welcome during its inauguration at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building, calls are now growing to shift the newly-formed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to its originally-designated premises, in the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) building.
The ongoing tug-of-war over who gets control of the Constitution Avenue premises is increasingly starting to resemble a joint family squeezed into an old ancestral home, where every member complains about inadequate space and competing needs.
Last week, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) demanded that the FCC be moved out of its temporary location within the IHC building, asserting that the new court must eventually operate from the FSC premises.
The bar leadership also warned that any attempt to relocate the IHC itself would be met with determined legal and democratic resistance.
Islamabad judiciary wary as newly formed Federal Constitutional Court could potentially usurp its coveted Constitution Avenue location
The establishment of the FCC has exposed what many observers describe as a lack of planning on the part of policymakers. The FCC — initially part of the 26th Constitutional Amendment package, but removed shortly before its passage — was reintroduced in the 27th Amendment.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had reportedly finalised the FSC building for the FCC days before the amendment was tabled in parliament.
However, the decision to convert the FSC building into the FCC’s permanent home was taken unilaterally, without consulting Shariat Court judges. Under the plan, four FSC judges and a backlog of only 56 pending petitions were to be shifted to the IHC’s third floor, where the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was instructed to urgently prepare four new courtrooms.
Simultaneously, the CDA was tasked with renovating FSC courtrooms for FCC judges. But when CDA teams arrived to take possession of the Shariat Court premises, the administration strongly resisted, even preventing their entry.
FSC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, along with other judges, subsequently met Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and conveyed their reservations over what they termed a unilateral and abrupt order, requiring them to vacate their purpose-built premises within a week.
A senior lawyer remarked that the situation was ironic: “A tenant is normally granted at least a month to vacate a rented property, yet the FSC judges were expected to leave within a week from a building acquired specifically for the Shariat Court”.
