ISLAMABAD — President Asif Ali Zardari has formally approved the appointment of Supreme Court judge Justice Yahya Afridi as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan. Following the presidential assent on Wednesday, the Ministry of Law and Justice officially issued the formal gazette notification confirming his three-year tenure, marking the inaugural implementation of the judicial appointment procedure established under the newly enacted 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Constitutional Mandate and Presidential Approval
The appointment was executed under Articles 175A(3), 177, and 179 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The formal summary recommending Justice Afridi was forwarded to Aiwan-e-Sadr by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following an in-camera vote by the 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee earlier in the week.
According to the official notification issued by the Law Ministry, Justice Yahya Afridi will assume office on October 26, 2024, immediately following the retirement of outgoing Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on October 25. Under the reformed constitutional framework, the Chief Justice of Pakistan now serves a fixed term of three years.
Special Parliamentary Committee Proceedings
Justice Afridi was selected from a panel comprising the Supreme Court's three most senior judges, which also included Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar. During the parliamentary committee's deliberations at Parliament House, eight out of the nine attending members voted in favor of Justice Afridi, decisively meeting the two-thirds constitutional threshold.
The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Saturday, October 26, where President Zardari will administer the oath of office before senior jurists, cabinet ministers, and diplomatic dignitaries.
Distinguished Judicial Career
Born in Dera Ismail Khan in 1965, Justice Yahya Afridi completed his schooling at Aitchison College Lahore and obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Jesus College, Cambridge. He was enrolled as an advocate of the High Court in 1990 and the Supreme Court in 2004.
Justice Afridi was elevated to the Peshawar High Court in 2010 and made judicial history in December 2016 by becoming the first judge from the tribal areas to serve as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court. Elevated to the Supreme Court in 2018, he has authored significant judgments across constitutional jurisprudence, commercial disputes, and criminal law. For authoritative updates on national affairs and legal governance, explore PakPulse247's News section and Pakistan coverage.