Justice Yahya Afridi sworn in as 30th chief justice of Pakistan

Supreme Court Judge Justice Yahya Afridi on Saturday took oath as the 30th chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) after his predecessor Qazi Faez Isa retired a day earlier.

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.

However, late on Monday night, the committee selected Justice Yahya Afridi from three candidates, which included Justice Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar. 

The decision allegedly upset Justice Shah, who subsequently did not participate in the farewell reference for Faez Isa.

Justice Yahya Afridi began his professional career as an advocate in 1990 and advanced to the Supreme Court’s advocacy in 2004. 

He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Peshawar High Court in 2010. Two years later, in March 2012, he was named a permanent judge.

In 2016, Justice Yahya took the oath as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, and two years later, he was appointed as a Supreme Court judge. 

He was part of a larger bench that ruled on the reserve seats' case, where he expressed a dissenting opinion.

CJP Yahya also participated in the nine-member larger bench of the Supreme Court regarding the presidential reference on the execution of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

At 59 years old, Justice Yahya Afridi declined to join the three-member judges committee formed under the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Ordinance 2024.