ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday appointed Justice Yahya Afridi, the third on the seniority list of judges, as Pakistan’s next chief justice after a 12-member special parliamentary committee selected him a day earlier for the position.
Afridi’s appointment was made by the committee formed under the contentious 26th Constitutional Amendment, which was tasked with choosing one of the three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to succeed Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, who is set to retire on Friday.
The committee also included opposition lawmakers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who boycotted the proceedings after objecting to the government’s handling of the constitutional amendment, accusing it of encouraging defections and undermining party loyalty.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 175 A read with Articles 177 and 179 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yahya Afraid, Judge of Supreme Court, as Chief Justice of Pakistan, for a term of three years with effect from 26.10.2024,” said a notification circulated by the law ministry.
Among the three senior-most judges considered for the key post, the other two were Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, with the government offering no explanation as to why they were passed over for the position.
The contentious constitutional amendment passed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration has sparked heated debate in the country, with opposition parties and prominent lawyers alleging that the new law aims to curtail the judiciary’s independence.
The government has rejected these allegations, with several officials stating that the amendment is intended to empower parliament and provide speedy justice to citizens through judicial reforms.
However, lawyers across the country threatened to protest before the adoption of the constitutional amendment if Justice Shah, who was expected to succeed the current chief justice, was not appointed.
These lawyers suspected the government of sidelining Shah due to recent Supreme Court rulings in political cases.
Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who was part of the parliamentary committee that agreed on Afridi’s appointment, defended the decision, saying it was made through a majority vote.
According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Afridi’s name was chosen by “a two-thirds majority” of the committee members.
Pakistan president appoints Justice Yahya Afridi as new Supreme Court chief justice
https://arab.news/mtaf9
Pakistan president appoints Justice Yahya Afridi as new Supreme Court chief justice
- Justice Afridi was third on the seniority list provided to a parliamentary committee that took the decision
- His appointment was made under the contentious 26th Constitutional Amendment with ‘two-thirds majority’
Pakistan, UAE review bilateral ties, economic and trade cooperation
- UAE Ambassador Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi meets Pakistan’s deputy PM, ministers of defense, finance and IT
- UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US, and home to around 2 million Pakistani expats
ISLAMABAD: UAE Ambassador Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi met Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and other members of the Pakistani cabinet on Sunday to review bilateral ties and discuss trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the UAE embassy said.
Al Zaabi held separate meetings with Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
“Views on the latest developments at the regional and international levels and matters of common interest between the two friendly countries were discussed and exchanged,” the UAE embassy in Islamabad wrote on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the embassy said Zaabi discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance economic and trade cooperation in his meeting with Aurangzeb.
Pakistan enjoys cordial ties with UAE rooted in shared values, faith, culture and economic relations. The Gulf nation is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US.
The UAE is also home to two million Pakistani expatriates, who make it the second-largest source of foreign remittances for cash-strapped Pakistan after Saudi Arabia.
The UAE is also a major source of foreign investment in Pakistan, which have been valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the Gulf state’s foreign ministry.
Policymakers in Pakistan consider the UAE an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
Both nations have signed agreements worth billions of dollars recently as Pakistan eyes greater trade and economic ties with Gulf states. In January 2024, Pakistan and the UAE signed multiple agreements worth more than $3 billion for cooperation in railways, economic zones and infrastructure.
