Mohsin Akhtar Kayani (born 11 February 1970) is a Pakistani jurist who has been Justice of the

Islamabad High Court The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is the senior court of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, with appellate jurisdiction over the following District courts of Pakistan, district courts: * Islamabad District Court (East) * Islamabad Distr ...

since 22 December 2015.

Early life and education

Kayani was born on 11 February 1970 in Islamabad. He completed his matriculation from F.G Boys High School in Islamabad, followed by his intermediate education in 1987 and graduation in 1989, both from F.G College for Men in Islamabad. He obtained his LLB degree from the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South Asia; being the oldest and largest publ ...

in 1994, and pursued his M.A. in Political Science from the same university during 1995-1996. Subsequently, he earned his LLM degree from

Karachi University The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

between 2001 and 2003, and completed his M.Sc in Pakistan Studies in 2005. He also attained a Post Graduate Diploma from the

University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar (; ; ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The university is one of the oldest universities in the provi ...

, in collaboration with the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

Career

Kayani began his legal career by becoming an advocate of the

District Courts District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

on 18 June 1995, and advocate of the High Courts on 21 November 1997. Later, he was enrolled as an Advocate of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

on 19 June 2009. In addition to his legal career, he has been actively involved in bar association politics. He initially served as Joint Secretary and later as General Secretary of the Islamabad Bar Council from 1997 to 1998 and from 2003 to 2004, respectively. He also served as President of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association from 2014 to 2015. On 23 December 2015, he was appointed as a Judge of the

Controversies

Allegations of harassment by intelligence agencies

On 26 March 2024, six judges of the Islamabad High Court, including Kayani, wrote a

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

to the

Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan The Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan is a judicial body of the superior judiciary of Pakistan, empowered under thArticle 209of the constitution of Pakistan, to hear cases of misconduct against judges. Constitutional composition The compositi ...

, alleging interference by the

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the premier Pakistani Intelligence community, intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant t ...

in judicial matters. They cited instances of pressure on judges through the abduction and torture of their relatives and secret surveillance within their residences. Additionally, they questioned the existence of a state policy aimed at intimidating and coercing judges. Subsequently, the next day,

Chief Justice of Pakistan The chief justice of Pakistan ( initials as CJP; , ''Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān'') is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistani judiciary. The Federal Court of Pakistan was establis ...

(CJP)

Qazi Faez Isa Qazi Faez Isa (, ; born 26 October 1959) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) from 17 September 2023 to 25 October 2024. He was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court in 2014, having previously ser ...

convened a full court session to investigate the accusations raised by the judges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayani, Mohsin Akhtar 1970 births Living people Judges of the Islamabad High Court