President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. According to a statement issued by the President Office, Justice Afridi’s appointment will be effective from October 26 for a tenure of three years.
The appointment was made under Articles 175(A)(3), 177, and 179 of the Constitution. Additionally, the President has approved the administration of the oath for Justice Afridi on October 26 as the new Chief Justice.
Just a day earlier, a 12-member Parliamentary Committee for Judges’ Appointments approved the nomination of Justice Yahya Afridi for the position. Subsequently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif forwarded a recommendation to the President to formalize Justice Afridi’s appointment as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
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Justice Afridi’s career, spanning over three decades, began in Dera Ismail Khan, where he was born on January 23, 1965. He received his early education at Lahore’s prestigious Aitchison College, later attending Government College Lahore, before obtaining a Master’s degree in Economics from Punjab University. His legal ambitions took him to Jesus College, Cambridge University, where he earned an LLM under the Commonwealth Scholarship program.
Afridi’s journey into the heart of Pakistan’s legal system began in 1990 when he started practicing as a high court advocate. By 2004, his reputation had grown, and he was elevated to the Supreme Court as an advocate. His early career saw him serve as Assistant Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a role that paved the way for his judicial appointments.
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In 2010, he was appointed as an additional judge of the Peshawar High Court, and within two years, he became a permanent judge. Justice Afridi’s leadership abilities shone through when he took the oath as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court on December 30, 2016, a position he held until his promotion to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on June 28, 2018.
Justice Afridi’s tenure in the Supreme Court has been marked by his role in pivotal cases. He was a member of the larger bench that adjudicated the controversial case involving the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council, a decision in which he registered a dissenting opinion. Notably, Afridi was also part of the nine-member bench that heard the presidential reference challenging the execution of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, one of the most politically sensitive cases in Pakistan’s history.
In an era where the judiciary plays a critical role in shaping the nation’s trajectory, Justice Afridi’s appointment is seen as both timely and crucial. His scholarly background, combined with his judicial acumen, positions him to navigate the complex legal and political challenges that lie ahead.
As Justice Afridi prepares to take his oath on October 26, Pakistan’s legal community—and the nation—look to him with anticipation, hoping his tenure will further stabilize the judiciary’s role as a pillar of justice and constitutional integrity.
