Tag: CJP

A claim regarding Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s reaction to Justice Yahya Afridi’s appointment as the next chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), has taken the internet by storm.

Justice Shah, who was next in line to be the CJP on the basis of seniority, was on Tuesday sidelined for the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi, as a Special Parliamentary Committee, formed under the 26th Amendment, nominated the latter instead.

The committee, with a two-thirds majority, referred Justice Afridi’s name to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who later forwarded it to President Asif Ali Zardari for a final nod.

With the Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar announcing the decision of the parliamentary committee last night, senior journalist Meher Bokhari shared on X (formerly Twitter) a claim regarding Justice Shah’s reaction to the news.

“Just spoke to a close family member of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. He said, ‘I am fine and going off to sleep and need to go early to SC [sic],” she claimed

It wasn’t later when social media was flooded with commentary on Justice Shah’s reaction.

One user trolled Meher Bokhari and said, “It was quite a revelation indeed. I also talked to a family member of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and he said, ‘I’ll wake up and brush my teeth.”

“Sanu ki paway lambi taan kay sawy ya choti,” another user posted.

Optimistically, one X user wrote, “Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s commitment to his duty speaks volumes. Let’s hope his integrity remains intact amidst all the political pressure.”

Justice Yahya Afridi’s Early Life

Justice Yahya Afridi was born in Dera Ismail Khan on Jan 23, 1965. Justice Afridi belongs to the Adam Khel clan of the Afridi tribe and is a resident of Kohat’s Babari Banda village. He comes from a family steeped in the tradition of public service, as per Dawn News.

Justice Afridi attended Aitchison College and Government College, Lahore, for his schooling and undergraduate degree. He later secured an MA degree in Economics from Punjab University.

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 programme for Young Commonwealth Lawyers at the Institute of Legal Studies in London.

He was enrolled as a high court advocate in 1990 and a Supreme Court lawyer in 2004. He served as an assistant advocate general for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and as federal counsel for the federal government while in practice.

Justice Afridi was elevated to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) as an additional judge in 2010, and confirmed as a PHC judge on March 15th, 2012.

He was elevated to the Supreme Court on June 29, 2018.

Justice Yahya Afridi will take oath as CJP on October 26.

The coalition government’s much-awaited 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill has been passed by both the Senate and the National Assembly in the wee hours of Monday morning.

The Constitutional Amendment bill has been sent to President Asif Ali Zardari, following the approval from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The bill, containing 22 clauses, was presented by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the Senate where it secured 65 votes, a two-thirds majority in the Upper House.

Following the voting, Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani stated, “Sixty-five members are in favour of the motion regarding the passage of the bill, and four members are against it. So, the motion is carried out by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Senate, and consequently, the bill stands passed.”

The 26th Constitutional Amendment bill was tabled at the National Assembly following approval from the Upper House and passed with a two-thirds majority as 225 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill in NA, while the magic number in the Lower House was 224 votes.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council’s 12 Member National Assembly (MNA) opposed the Constitutional Amendments In the National Assembly.

“225 members cast their votes for ayes, 12 for nos. Consequently, the bill is passed by the assembly by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the assembly,” the Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq said.

Following the passage of the bill from the NA, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif remarked, “Today’s amendment, the 26th, is not just an amendment, but an example of national solidarity and consensus. A new sun will rise, emanating across the nation.”

The key points of the 26th Constitutional Amendment

The much-debated Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has been dropped from the Constitutional Amendments bill. However, it has been suggested that constitutional benches be formed in the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan to deal with constitutional matters.

The Supreme Judicial Commission (SJC), headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and including the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court, two senators and two MNAs, a Law Minister and the Attorney General of Pakistan will form the constitutional bench and ensure that all provinces get representation on it.

The minimum number of judges in the constitutional bench would be five.

A 12-member special parliamentary committee, including eight members from the National Assembly and four Senators, would be responsible for sending the names of the three most senior judges of the top court to PM Pakistan for the appointment of Chief Justice of Pakistan.

The Chief Justice’s retirement age is fixed at 65 years of age.

A draft of the government’s proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment has unveiled the process of the appointment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).

Ruling out the scenario of the most senior judge being appointed the Chief Justice of Pakistan, it has been suggested in Constitutional Amendments that the appointment shall be made from among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court on the recommendation of a special parliamentary committee.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi are in the running on the basis of seniority.

Eight members of the National Assembly and four members of the Senate will be part of the 12 members of the special parliamentary committee.

The majority of the special parliamentary committee will be from the ruling government.

The proposed Constitutional Amendments further suggested that if the National Assembly is dissolved, then all committee members will be from the Senate.

However, the special parliamentary committee will send the name of the judge to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and then the President will give consent to the appointment of the top court judge.

The next senior judge’s name would be considered for the CJP if the Prime Minister rejects the special committee’s proposed judge name, and the process will continue until the CJP is appointed.

The majority of the special parliamentary committee would be responsible for sending the name of the nominated judge to the Prime Minister prior to 14 days of retirement of the CJP.

No decision or action of the commission or committee shall be questioned or deemed illegal following the vacancy in membership or the absence of any member in the special parliamentary committee, the 26th constitutional amendment concluded.