President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday administered the oath to Sarfraz Dogar as acting Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) at a ceremony held here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The event began with the playing of the national anthem followed by recitation from the Holy Quran.

According to official notification, President of Pakistan appointed Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar as Acting Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court with effect from the day he takes oath of his office till the appointment of regular chief justice.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Law late Wednesday announced that President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed Justice Sarfraz Dogar as the acting chief justice of the IHC.

The appointment, made under Article 196 of the Constitution, took effect from the date Justice Dogar took the oath of office and was to remain in place until a permanent chief justice was appointed.

This appointment followed Justice Aamer Farooq’s elevation to the Supreme Court (SC) earlier that week.

Justice Dogar, who had previously been transferred from the Lahore High Court (LHC), was set to serve until a permanent chief justice was appointed.

The president also approved the elevation of seven judges to the Supreme Court, including Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad, and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

The decision was opposed by Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, and Saman Rafat.

The judges of the IHC had decided to challenge the rejection of their representation.