Islamabad – Justice Yahya Afridi was sworn in as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for a three-year term on Saturday. The oath-taking ceremony took place at the President’s House, where President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath in the presence of senior judges of the Supreme Court, parliamentarians, and high-ranking government officials.
Justice Afridi, who ranks third on the Supreme Court’s seniority list, was nominated for the position on Tuesday following the approval of his candidacy by a newly formed parliamentary panel. This panel, consisting of both government and opposition members, selected him from a three-member shortlist with a two-thirds majority vote.
The decision was announced late at night by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, following an in-camera meeting of the special panel at Parliament House. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party boycotted the proceedings in protest against the constitutional amendments that led to the establishment of the committee.
Just a day prior, the PTI had submitted a list of its lawmakers for inclusion in the panel at the request of the National Assembly Secretariat. However, due to their absence, only nine members participated in the vote. Of these, eight supported Justice Afridi, while a solitary vote for Justice Mansoor Ali Shah came from JUI-F leader Kamran Murtaza.
Attendees of the meeting included Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaista Pervaiz, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Rana Ansar, Farooq H. Naek, Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Kamran Murtaza.
The Supreme Court held a full court reference on Friday to bid farewell to outgoing Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
