The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed September 10, 2025, for the next hearing in the high-profile Dr Aafia Siddiqui case, where contempt notices were earlier issued to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet over alleged disobedience of the court orders.
The 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Friday that a cause list has also been issued in this regard. A four-member larger bench has now been constituted to hear the matter.
The bench will be headed by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, with Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, Justice Azam Khan, and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas as members.
The development comes after Justice Minhas, on September 1, referred the case to the chief justice for the formation of a larger bench, citing differences over the issue of the “master of roster”.
He had remarked in court that the matter was still straightforward but required resolution by a larger bench due to differing judicial opinions.
Earlier, on August 28, 2025, the IHC had reassigned the petition relating to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who is detained in a US prison, from Justice Ejaz Ishaq to Justice Minhas under a new “Roster of Sitting”.
This came shortly after Justice Ishaq issued sweeping contempt notices to the prime minister and his cabinet for non-compliance with court directives.
During the last hearing, Advocate Imran Shafiq, counsel for Dr Fowzia Siddiqui (Aafia’s sister), argued that the case had become “quite complicated”.
Justice Minhas disagreed, noting that the matter remained simple but required adjudication by a larger bench.
Reporter: Ehtisham Kiyani