First day in office: CJP Afridi hears 24 cases in 75 minutes

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi's first day in office was marked by remarkable efficiency.

He heard 30 cases from 9:30 am until the court recess, completing 24 of them within just 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The remaining six cases were postponed due to various reasons ¹.

Justice Afridi, along with Justice Shahid Bilal, formed Bench Number One to tackle the heavy caseload.

Notably, he also prepared the roster for the upcoming week's Full Court meeting and scheduled the hearing of over 900 cases within a single week, indicating that speedy disposal of cases is a top priority for the new Chief Justice.

Justice Yahya Afridi on Saturday took oath as the 30th chief justice of Pakistan (CJP).

President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath at a ceremony held at the President House in Islamabad.

Top government and military officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, senators and foreign ambassadors, attended the ceremony.

Justice Yahya was appointed by the special parliamentary committee (SPC) established under the 26th constitutional amendment, which was legislated a week prior. 

The legislation altered the process for appointing the CJP by eliminating the seniority law, as Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was expected to succeed Justice Isa, initially.