Follow Us on Google News
Justice Yahya Afridi took oath as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for three years on Saturday. President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to the judge in the oath-taking ceremony held at the President’s House in Islamabad.
Senior judges of the Supreme Court (SC), parliamentarians, and senior government officials were in attendance.
Justice Afridi, third on the SC’s seniority list was nominated as the chief justice of Pakistan on Tuesday after a newly formed parliamentary panel, comprising members both from the government as well as the opposition, approved his name out of a three-member panel, with a two-thirds majority.
The late-night decision, announced by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, was taken during an in-camera meeting of the special panel held at Parliament House, with the PTI boycotting the proceedings to protest the constitutional amendments that gave birth to the committee.
Only a day earlier, the PTI had given the list of its lawmakers for the panel at the request of the National Assembly Secretariat.
However, in the absence of the PTI, only nine members met.
Out of them, eight voted for Justice Afridi, while the lone voice in support of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was JUI-F leader Kamran Murtaza.
Those who attended the meeting were Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaista Pervaiz, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Rana Ansar, Farooq H. Naek, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Kamran Murtaza.
The SC had on Friday held a full court reference to bid outgoing CJP Qazi Faez Isa farewell.
