{"id":10134,"date":"2026-02-23T17:34:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T17:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/?p=10134"},"modified":"2026-02-23T17:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T17:37:55","slug":"ihc-withdraws-contempt-notices-against-pm-and-cabinet-in-dr-aafia-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/?p=10134","title":{"rendered":"IHC Withdraws Contempt Notices Against PM and Cabinet in Dr. Aafia Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"model-response-message-contentr_18644dc4fd15021e\" class=\"markdown markdown-main-panel enable-updated-hr-color preserve-whitespaces-in-response\" dir=\"ltr\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-busy=\"false\">\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\"><b data-path-to-node=\"1\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ISLAMABAD (HRNW) \u2013\u00a0<\/b>The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has officially terminated contempt proceedings in the Dr. Aafia Siddiqui case by withdrawing the previously issued order for contempt notices against the Prime Minister and the Federal Cabinet. A four-member larger bench, headed by Justice Arbab Tahir, issued a written order declaring that the July 21, 2025, decision by a single bench was legally void because that bench had not been properly constituted. The court reaffirmed that the Chief Justice, as the &#8220;Master of the Roster,&#8221; holds the exclusive authority under Article 202 of the Constitution and High Court rules to form benches and assign cases.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"3\">The judgment clarified that no individual judge or bench can take up, maintain, or transfer a case to themselves without the Chief Justice&#8217;s formal approval. Furthermore, the court stated that any grievances regarding the formation of a bench must be addressed through administrative channels rather than judicial orders. This ruling effectively settles the procedural dispute regarding the case&#8217;s jurisdiction and provides relief to the country&#8217;s top executive leadership from the threat of contempt charges.<\/p>\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"4\" \/>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Support Independent Journalism<\/b><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">To help us continue our mission of providing transparent and timely legal reports, please visit:<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"128\"><a class=\"ng-star-inserted\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=https:\/\/hrnww.com\/support-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-hveid=\"0\" data-ved=\"0CAAQ_4QMahgKEwjTyOHi---SAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ7wI\">hrnww.com\/support-us<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_10134\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"10134\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hrnww.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD (HRNW) \u2013\u00a0The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has officially terminated contempt proceedings in the Dr. Aafia Siddiqui case by withdrawing the previously issued order for contempt notices against the Prime Minister and the Federal Cabinet. A four-member larger bench, headed by Justice Arbab Tahir, issued a written order declaring that the July 21, 2025, decision&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_10134\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"10134\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 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