Monitoring Desk: The first meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee established under the 26th Constitutional Amendment approved by both Houses of Parliament was held in which Justice Yahya Afridi was unanimously nominated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The closed-door meeting of the 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee was held in Committee Room 5 of the Parliament House. Three members of the Sunni Ittehad Council Ali Zafar, Barrister Gohar, and Hamid Raza boycotted the meeting as expected – the committee agreed on the name of Justice Yahya Afridi by a two-thirds majority.
The nominated Justice Yahya Afridi belongs to erstwhile FATA and has served the law without any political bias in his career, he is the most suitable person for the post of Chief Justice. It is known about him that he is a serious thinking judge without any bias, making decisions only in the light of the constitution and law, whose rule has always been free from any kind of controversy.
Supreme Court Judge Justice Yahya Afridi received his primary education from Aitchison College, Lahore, and graduated from Government College, Lahore, while he received his MA in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore. Justice Yahya Afridi also obtained an LLM degree from Cambridge University on a Commonwealth Scholarship.
Justice Yahya Afridi started practicing law in the High Court in 1990 and started practicing as a Supreme Court lawyer in 2004. Justice Yahya Afridi also served as Assistant Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Justice Yahya Afridi was appointed as an Additional Judge of Peshawar High Court in 2010, while he was appointed as a permanent judge on 15 March 2012. On 30 December 2016, Justice Yahya Afridi was appointed to the Peshawar High Court. He took the oath of office of the Chief Justice of the Court and on 28 June 2018, he was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Legal experts say that Justice Yahya Afridi has been a part of many important decisions in the past, but Justice Yahya Afridi did not make himself controversial in any case and he continued to give judgment only according to the constitution and law. Justice Yahya Khan Afridi is considered as an impartial and non-controversial judge in all circles due to his decisions.
In the opinion of legal experts, formal reforms have been started in the judicial system since the 26th constitutional amendment, a clear example of which is the Supreme Court, where in the previous periods, the post of Chief Justice was provided to a judge only based on seniority. There was a tradition, but with the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi, this tradition has ended and now the decision is based on merit alone, which is a welcome process.
According to legal experts, the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi as Chief Justice, like Qazi Faiz Isa who hails from Balochistan, is an example of a significant shift from smaller provinces to merit-based selection.
The two figures, who hail from the historically backward regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, prove that people of potential from every corner of Pakistan can rise to the country’s highest judicial ranks.
Legal experts also say that after ten years the Chief Justice has been appointed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and for the first time this honor has been won from a tribal region. The appointment of Justice Afridi is being considered as a powerful message to those who are raising voices for rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This appointment reflects that the rights and representation of the people of the tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are now being given a central place, which will be a sign of lasting justice.
Legal experts also say that the government has succeeded in its test – just as the first fruit of the 26th constitutional amendment has come out in the form of a new chief justice, similarly the constitutional bench will also play its role under this amendment. will hear only constitutional judgments while the Supreme Court and High Courts will focus on civil and criminal cases to eliminate the backlog, which will undoubtedly reduce public interest in the judiciary.
