Athar Minallah

Athar Minallah is a Pakistani jurist. Currently he is chief Justice of Islamabad High Court since 28 November 2018.[1] He was a lawyer by profession.[2][3][4]

Justice Minallah was third on the seniority list in the IHC till the sacking of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, the former senior puisne judge who was removed on the recommendation of Supreme Judicial Council that found him guilty of misconduct over unfounded and unsubstantiated claims against a premier state institution.

Subsequently, Justice Minallah became the senior puisne judge.

Justice Minallah is the eldest son of Nasrum Minallah, who was a commissioner during the 1960s and 70s. He is the son-in-law of Justice Safdar Shah who was part of the bench that convicted and sentenced former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but wrote a dissenting note against the conviction, for which he faced the wrath of the then military dictator, Gen Ziaul Haq.

Justice Minallah joined Pakistan Customs and rose to senior positions but later resigned and started practicing law.

Following the sacking of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, he joined the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary.

However, after Justice Chaudhry’s restoration, he became a critic of the judiciary because of excessive suo motu cases which led to the pendency of routine cases.

Justice Minallah was appointed as an IHC judge in June 2014 and is considered to be one of the finest judges in the superior judiciary.

In the past few years, he has authored landmark judgments in matters related to civil litigation including real estate, criminal cases, the environment and missing persons.