On Wednesday, President Asif Ali Zardari appointed Justice Yahya Afridi as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). According to a notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice, his term is set for three years, starting from October 26.
This appointment follows the constitutional guidelines outlined in Articles 175A(3), 177, and 179. Justice Afridi will succeed current CJP Qazi Faez Isa, who retires on October 25.
Just a day prior, a Special Parliamentary Committee, consisting of both government and opposition members, nominated Justice Afridi for the prestigious role. Although senior-most judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was next in line, recent amendments to the constitution (the 26th Amendment Act, 2024) led to the establishment of a 12-member parliamentary committee responsible for choosing a new CJP from the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.
The committee recommended Yahya Afridi to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the president subsequently approved the appointment.
Justice Afridi has an impressive academic background, having completed his early education at Aitchison College in Lahore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Government College Lahore and obtained a Master’s in Economics from Punjab University.
He began his judicial career as a judge of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in 2010 and became a Supreme Court judge in 2018. Notably, Justice Afridi was the first judge from the Federally Administered Tribal Area to become Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, a position he held from December 30, 2016, until his elevation to the Supreme Court on June 28, 2018.
