ISLAMABAD: Justice Yahya Afridi has been nominated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) by a special parliamentary committee with a two-thirds majority.
As per private tv channel report, after the implementation of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, a special parliamentary committee meeting was held for the appointment of the new Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The closed-door meeting of the 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee was held in Committee Room 5 of the Parliament House. Three members of the Sunni Ittehad Council, Ali Zafar, Barrister Gohar, and Hamid Raza, boycotted the meeting.
After a long discussion, the committee agreed on the name of Justice Yahya Afridi by a two-thirds majority.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, committee member and Federal Law Minister Nazir Tarar said that the committee has sent the name of Justice Yahya Afridi to the Prime Minister. The committee has nominated Justice Yahya Afridi as the Chief Justice of Pakistan by a two-thirds majority.
Earlier during the meeting, JUI Senator Kamran Murtaza contacted the leaders of the Sunni Ittehad Council by telephone and invited them to attend the meeting, but the members of the Sunni Ittehad Council refused to participate.
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Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said, “We should celebrate the members of the Sunni Ittehad Council. The beauty of democracy is to celebrate the opposition. Four members should go to the Sunni Ittehad Council and convince them to participate.”
Speaking to the media, Prime Minister Nazir Tarar said, “A party did not participate in the committee. We have also requested the speaker. We are democratic people, and we want to address this matter in a democratic way.” The Parliamentary Committee has formed a four-member subcommittee, which includes Raja Pervez Ashraf, Kamran Murtaza, Rana Ansar, and Ahsan Iqbal, to engage with the opposition. The committee will approach the opposition in their chambers.
Report Says, Negotiations between the four-member committee and the Sunni Ittehad Council failed, and the Sunni Ittehad Council refused to participate in the parliamentary committee on the appointment of the Chief Justice.
A meeting was held in the Speaker’s chamber regarding the appointment of the new Chief Justice. The Speaker called PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar for the negotiation process.
The four-member committee requested the PTI chairman to join the committee for consultation, but Barrister Gohar refused to attend the committee meeting.
Barrister Gohar stated that their political committee had decided not to participate in the parliamentary committee.
After a break, the special parliamentary committee for the appointment of the Chief Justice resumed, and the name of Justice Yahya Afridi was agreed upon.
The committee has sent the name of the new Chief Justice to the Prime Minister, and his approval will then be sought from the President.
According to the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the appointment of the new Chief Justice will be made three days before the retirement of the current Chief Justice.
Who is Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi?
Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi was born in Dera Ismail Khan on 23rd January 1965. He belongs to the Adam Khel section of the Afridi tribe in the Kohat Frontier Region and is a resident of Village Babari Banda, District Kohat. He comes from a family with a tradition of public service.
According to the Supreme Court’s official website, His Lordship received his early education at Aitchison College, Lahore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Government College, Lahore, and later obtained his Master of Arts degree in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore.
After being awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship, Justice Afridi completed his LL.M. from Jesus College, University of Cambridge. He was subsequently selected for a scholarship program for Young Commonwealth Lawyers at the Institute of Legal Studies in London.
Justice Yahya interned at Fox & Gibbons, Solicitors, in London before returning to Pakistan, where he joined Orr, Dignam & Co. in Karachi as an Associate. He then started his private practice in Peshawar and lectured at Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar, where he taught International Law, Labour Law, and Administrative Law.
He 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 during his practice.
Justice Yahya Afridi was elevated to the Bench of the Peshawar High Court as an Additional Judge in 2010 and was confirmed as a Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 15th March 2012.
He became the first judge from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to assume the office of 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.
