President appoints Justice Yahya Afridi as new Chief Justice of Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari has appointed Justice Yahya Afridi, a Supreme Court judge, as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan, after the Parliamentary Committee for Judges Appointment overwhelmingly nominated him for the top judicial office, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The president made the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi for a period of three years with effect from October 26, 2024, according to a President House press release issued in Islamabad on Wednesday morning.

Acting on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice, the President made the appointment in exercise of his powers conferred under Articles 175A(3), 177 and 179 of the Constitution.

President Zardari also approved October 26 (Saturday) as the date for administering the oath of office to Justice Yahya Afridi as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan.

After getting President’s approval, the Law Ministry issued a notification regarding appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years.

The notification said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 175 A read with Article 177 and 179 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi, Judge of Supreme Court, as Chief Justice of Pakistan, for a term of three years with effect from 26-10-2024.

On Tuesday, Justice Yahya Afridi, the third judge on the Supreme Court’s seniority list after CJP Qazi Faez Isa, was nominated as the chief justice of Pakistan after a newly-established parliamentary panel comprising government and opposition members approved his name out of a three-member panel, with a two-thirds majority. The late-night decision, announced by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, was taken during an in-camera session of the special panel held at Parliament House, with the PTI boycotting the proceedings to protest the 26^th Constitutional Amendment that gave birth to the committee.

In the absence of the PTI representatives, only nine members met. Out of them, eight voted for Justice Afridi, while the lone voice in support of senior puisne judge Mansoor Ali Shah was reportedly from JUI-F leader Kamran Murtaza.

Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaista Pervaiz, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Rana Ansar, Farooq H Naek, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Kamran Murtaza participated in the meeting.

PTI-linked members Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Hamid Raza, and Barrister Syed Ali Zafar boycotted the panel’s proceedings.

Justice Yahya Afridi’s profile

Justice Yahya Afridi was born in Dera Ismail Khan on 23rd January 1965. He belongs to the Adam Khel section of the Afridi tribe located in the Kohat Frontier Region and is a resident of Village Babari Banda, District Kohat. He belongs to a family steeped in a tradition of public service.

His Lordship received his early education at Aitchison College, Lahore. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Government College Lahore and later obtained his Masters of Arts degree in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore.

After being awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship, Justice Afridi completed his LL.M. from Jesus College at the University of Cambridge. He was subsequently selected for a scholarship program for Young Commonwealth Lawyers at the Institute of Legal Studies in London.

His Lordship interned at Fox & Gibbons, Solicitors, in London, before returning to Pakistan where he joined Orr, Dignam & Co. in Karachi as an Associate. He went on to start his private practice in Peshawar and lectured at Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar where he taught International Law, Labour Law and Administrative Law.

His Lordship was enrolled as an advocate of the High Court in 1990 and as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2004. He served as an Assistant Advocate General for the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and as a Federal Counsel for the Government of Pakistan while in practice.

His Lordship was elevated to the Bench of the Peshawar High Court as Additional Judge in 2010 and was confirmed as a Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 15th March 2012.

Justice Afridi became the first judge from the Federally Administered Tribal Area to assume the office of the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court when he took oath on 30th December 2016. He served in that office until his elevation as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 28th June 2018.

Reporters Awais Kiyani and Amanat Gishkori