ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Dr. Arif Alvi on Thursday nominated Justice Umar Ata Bandial as the new chief justice of the country, Pakistani state media reported.
Justice Bandial will succeed the incumbent Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed on February 2, 2022, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Born on September 17, 1958 in Lahore, Justice Bandial received his elementary and secondary education in Lahore, Kohat, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.
“He secured his B.A. (Economics) degree from Columbia University, USA followed by a Law Tripos degree from Cambridge University, UK and qualified as Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn, London,” the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s website read.
In 1983, Justice Bandial enrolled as an advocate of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and later, as an advocate of the Supreme Court.
As a lawyer at the LHC, he dealt mostly with commercial, banking, tax and property matters. He also handled international commercial disputes and appeared in arbitration matters before the Supreme Court of Pakistan and international arbitral tribunals in London and Paris.
He was elevated as a judge of the Lahore High Court on December 4, 2004. Justice Bandial is one of the judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), issued by former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf, in November 2007.
He was reinstated as a judge of the Lahore High Court after the country’s lawyers succeeded in their movement for the restoration of the judiciary and constitution against the Musharraf regime.
Justice Bandial served as the chief justice of the Lahore High Court for two years until his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court in June 2014.
During his stint as a judge of the high court and the apex court, Justice Bandial has issued judgments on a number of civil and commercial disputes, and in constitutional rights and public interest cases.
President Alvi names Justice Umar Ata Bandial as next chief justice of Pakistan
https://arab.news/rphev
President Alvi names Justice Umar Ata Bandial as next chief justice of Pakistan
- He has issued key verdicts in civil, constitutional and public interest cases
- Justice Bandial will take charge as the new chief justice on February 2, 2022
Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months
- Finance adviser says repayment shows “decisive shift” toward fiscal discipline, responsible economic management
- Says Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over $286.6 billion in June 2025 to $284.7 billion in November 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid Rs3,650 billion [$13.06 billion] in domestic debt before time during the last 14 months, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday, adding that the achievement reflected a shift in the country’s approach toward fiscal discipline.
Schehzad said Pakistan has been repaying its debt before maturity, owed to the market as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), since December 2024. He said the government had repaid the central bank Rs300 billion [$1.08 billion] in its latest repayment on Thursday.
“This landmark achievement reflects a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, credibility, and responsible economic management,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X.
Giving a breakdown of what he said was Pakistan’s “early debt retirement journey,” the finance official said Pakistan retired Rs1,000 billion [$3.576 billion] in December 2024, Rs500 billion [$1.78 billion] in June 2025, Rs1,160 billion [$4.150 billion] in August 2025, Rs200 billion [$715 million] in October 2025, Rs494 billion [$1.76 billion] in December 2025 and $1.08 billion in January 2026.
He said with the latest debt repaid today, the July to January period of fiscal year 2026 alone recorded Rs2,150 billion [$7.69 billion] in early retirement, which was 44 percent higher than the debt retired in FY25.
He said of the total early repayments, the government has repaid 65 percent of the central bank’s debt, 30 percent of the treasury bills debt and five percent of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) debt.
The official said Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over Rs 80.5 trillion [$286.6 billion] in June 2025 to Rs80 trillion [$284.7 billion] in November 2025.
“Crucially, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio, around 74 percent in FY22, has declined to around 70 percent, reflecting a broader strengthening of fiscal fundamentals alongside disciplined debt management,” Schehzad wrote.
Pakistan’s government has said the country’s fragile economy is on an upward trajectory. The South Asian country has been trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
