Yahya Afridi sworn in as 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan

Islamabad : Yahya Afridi was sworn in as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Saturday during an oath-taking ceremony at President House in Islamabad, reported Dawn.

Pakistani Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended his wishes to Afridi on the occasion.

In a post on X, Sharif said, "I congratulate Justice Yahya Afridi on taking oath as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. His experience, wisdom and legal knowledge will guide the judiciary towards upholding justice and strengthening the rule of law. I am confident that under his leadership, the courts will continue to serve the people of Pakistan with integrity and fairness. My best wishes to him for a successful tenure ahead."

Afridi was nominated by a Special Parliamentary Committee (SPC), which was formed under the newly implemented 26th Amendment, Dawn reported. He was administered the oath of office by Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and will hold the position for a period of three years, as per Dawn.

Afridi's predecessor Faez Isa, who was sworn in on September 17, 2023, was officially offered a farewell on Friday during a full court reference with senior lawyers in attendance.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the three services chiefs, including Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, attended oath-taking ceremony on Saturday, along with other judges of the Supreme Court.

After assuming his office, Afridi reconstituted the Practice and Procedure Committee and re-inducted Justice Akhtar into the body, as per Dawn.

Following an ordinance last month to amend the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 -- a law that aimed to curtail the CJP's powers -- the top judge could now pick any SC judge to be the third member of the body, Dawn reported.

Subsequently, Isa had removed Justice Akhtar, the third senior-most judge at the time, from the committee and made Aminuddin Khan a part of it, as per Dawn.