ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi replaced the IHC registrar, district and sessions judge (DSJ) Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan, with DSJ Atiqur Rehman.

DSJ Raja Jawad was appointed IHC registrar in January this year.

According to a notification issued on Friday afternoon he was appointed Member Inspection Team(MIT)withimmediateeffect.

Mr Rehman had also served as IHC registrar between 2011 and 2012. Most of the appointments made in the IHC during his tenure as registrar have been challenged in the Supreme Court, where the matter is still pending for adjudication. On Thursday, Supreme CourtJusticeSaqibNisarresumed the hearing of the case and adjourned further hearing until next week.

Sources in IHC have called the reshuffle a `sudden` change. They said that, shortly after the notification was circulated, Mr Rehman who was worl(ing as an ad hoc DSJ arrived at IHC and took charge of the registrar`s office.

Sources said that Mr Jawad was considered for a vacant position as an IHC judge, but was later dropped, and the IHC chief justice forwarded the names of Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Gul Hassan Aurangzeb to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

Mr Jawad was removed fromthe registrar office a day after IHC Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi issued a stay order against the mandatory examination for the confirmation of civil judges working in the subordinate judiciary of Islamabad on probation.

Justice Qureshi last week directed the IHC registrar to submit a report and para-wise comments after 18 civil judges filed a petition against the said examination, saying the IHC administration could not conduct an examination for their confirmation because they were not provided on-the-job training.

These civil judges were inducted into Islamabad Judicial Service during 2011-2012 and are likely to appear for the examination as well as before a committee comprising IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Aamir Farooq.

According to the petition, judges of the subordinate judiciary could only be asked to appear in the exam after they have been given the required training.

The petitioners requested that the court restrain the IHC administration from conducting the examination of the judges working on probation until they have received the required training. Justice Qureshi on Thursday again directed the IHC registrar to submit the report and issued a restraining order against conducting the examination for the confirmation of civil judges.Malik Asad