Ministry of Law & Justice issues notification regarding appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as CJP from 26/10/2024

ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (SABAH): Ministry of Law and Justice has issued notification regarding the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as the Chief Justice of Pakistan for a term of three years.

According to the notification: In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 175-A read with Articles 177 and 179 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to appoint honorable Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi, Judge of Supreme Court, as Chief Justice of Pakistan, for a term of three years with effect from 26/10/2024.

The notification has been issued by Section Officer Sajjad Mustafa with the signatures of Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar.

The copy of the notification has been sent to all the conferment authorities including Secretary to the President, President’s Secretariat, Islamabad, Secretary to the Prime Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Islamabad, Secretary, Special Parliamentary Committee, National Assembly, Islamabad, The Registrar, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Islamabad (with one spare copy for the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan), The Registrars, Federal Shariat Court, Lahore High Court, High Court of Sindh, Peshawar High Court, High Court of Balochistan and Islamabad High Court, The secretary, Office of Attorney General for Pakistan, Islamabad, The accountant General Pakistan Revenues, Islamabad, SO to Minister for Law & Justice, Islamabad, PSO to Secretary Law & Justice Division, Islamabad, LIS Wing, law & Justice Division, Islamabad, F.No.2(1)2014-A-II and Record.

The notification of the new chief justice has been issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice after the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari on the advice of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

It is worth mentioning here that the Special Parliamentary Committee comprising of 12 members on Tuesday had recommended appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi with two-thirds majority.

It is worth mentioning here that Justice Yahya Afridi was born in Dera Ismail Khan on 23rd January 1965. He belongs to the Adam Khel section of the Afridi tribe located in the Kohat Frontier Region and is a resident of Village Babari Banda, District Kohat. He belongs to a family steeped in a tradition of public service.

He received his early education at Aitchison College, Lahore. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Government College Lahore and later obtained his Masters of Arts degree in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore.

After being awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship, Justice Afridi completed his LLM from Jesus College at the University of Cambridge. He was subsequently selected for a scholarship program for Young Commonwealth Lawyers at the Institute of Legal Studies in London.

He 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 while in practice.

Afridi was elevated to the Bench of the Peshawar High Court as Additional Judge in 2010 and was confirmed as a Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 15th March 2012.

Justice Afridi became the first judge from the Federally Administered Tribal Area to assume the office of the 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.