Islamabad:
Chief Justice of the Capital’s High Court had to make a clarification Friday after various bars and lawyers “condemned” his behavior while consulting a case with regard to the removal of the name of a Baloch rights activist, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, from Exit Control List (ECL).
On Thursday, Islamabad High Court (IHC) had Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Dr. Mahrang’s lawyer Imaan Mazari engaged in a verbal shift in which the judge had warned the lawyer that she could face contempt.
“You should keep your mouth shut and stay within the bounds,” Chief Justice Dogar had told Mazari, who allegedly called Justice Dogar “one dictator” on another forum.
Imaan had insisted that her personal opinions were protected under freedom of speech and should not affect her client’s case. “I’m here with one [legal] Short, not in a personal feature. “
During the heated exchange, Chief Justice Dogar had warned Imaan about possible contempt procedure. Adding fuel to the fire, he had turned to Imaan’s husband and co -lawyer, lawyer Hadi Ali Chatta, and said, “Hadi SaHib, explain it to her … if I catch her one day …”
Imaan had later taken to X to repeat that she was present in IHC on behalf of her client, not as “activist Imaan Mazari”. She emphasized that she was conducting herself “according to professional label (and a court should do the same)”.
On Friday, a number of lawyers’ bodies issued judgmental statements with the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), which required the removal of Justice Dogar from his position.
In a press release – which Mazari shared on X – LHCBA said the body’s president, vice president and secretary “heavily condemns” Justice Dogar’s exchange with Mazari.
The statement said attorneys were “officer[s] of the court “and their respect and dignity should be prioritized just as the respected judges who worked within the limits of the law and the constitution.
Karachi Bar Association (KBA) also issued a statement, “strongly condemned the very inappropriate behavior” of Justice Dogar.
“The association notes with deep concern that, instead of maintaining legal dignity and impartiality, Chief Justice resorted to derogatory remarks and threats of contempt procedure against the lawyer. Such behavior undermines the holiness of legal forums, frightens members of the bar and contradicts principles of justice,” it said.
Balochistan bar Council also issued a similar statement calling for the highest Judicial Council (SJC) to reject Justice Dogar from his post. Separately, a group of female lawyers also signed signatories of a condemnation of the comments and referred to them “sexist, threatening and effortless by a judge”.
The statement said that Justice Dogar’s remarks “reflect a deeply patriarchal attitude and the threats are a source of concern. The purpose of the law of contempt is to maintain justice administration, not for judges to keep a sword over the lawyer’s leader”.
During the hearing of a case on Friday, Justice Dogar managed his remarks and said that Imaan Mazari was “as a daughter for him”. “Yesterday I advised her as the oldest and as the Supreme Court, but my words were taken out of context and blown out of proportions,” he said.
The judge declared that he only warned her not to make personal comments about judges and refused to threaten to “catch” her. He added that when he mentioned the contempt procedure, it was only because repeated despite being able to hurt her career.
