ISLAMABAD: Justice Yahya Afridi will take the oath as Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) in a ceremonial event at Aiwan-e-Sadr today. President Asif Ali Zardari will administer the oath to Justice Afridi, who steps into this esteemed role for a fixed three-year term, succeeding former CJP Qazi Faez Isa, who retired on October 25.
Justice Afridi’s appointment marks the first under Articles 175A(3), 177, and 179 of the Constitution following the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Career Overview of Justice Yahya Afridi
Born on January 23, 1965, in Dera Ismail Khan, Justice Afridi hails from the Afridi tribe’s Adam Khel section in Kohat. His family has a strong legacy of public service. He began his academic journey at Aitchison College, Lahore, followed by a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Economics from Government College Lahore, and a Master’s in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore.
Awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship, he pursued an LLM at Jesus College, University of Cambridge. He also attended a specialized scholarship program for Young Commonwealth Lawyers at the Institute of Legal Studies in London.
Justice Afridi commenced his legal career in Peshawar, where he also taught International Law, Labour Law, and Administrative Law at Khyber Law College. Rising through the ranks, he served as an advocate in both the High Court (from 1990) and the Supreme Court (from 2004), holding roles as Assistant Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federal Counsel for the Government of Pakistan.
Appointed as an Additional Judge to the Peshawar High Court in 2010, Justice Afridi was confirmed as a Judge in 2012. In 2016, he made history as the first judge from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to serve as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, a position he held until his elevation to the Supreme Court in 2018.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
