A special parliamentary committee has been established to elect the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mansoor Ali Shah after legal changes were made through the 26th constitutional amendment. The secretariat of the national assembly has also confirmed the committee’s formation through notification.
The elected Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, will provide three nominations of the seniormost judges by the end of Tuesday to appoint a new CJP.
The report mentions three senior judges under consideration: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Yahya Afridi. Their profiles are as follows:
Mansoor Ali Shah
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was born in Peshawar on November 28, 1962. He was educated in Lahore at Aitchison College. After completing his law degree from Punjab University, he became a law college instructor. This career move was fruitful as I rose the ranks to eventually become an additional judge of the Lahore High Court in the year 20 as Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court between 2016 and 2018.
He became a Supreme Court judge on February 7, 2018, after a brief period during which he could rise in charge levels. This same period was also fruitful for Justice Shah as he could participate in and manage many important cases, including the majority decision regarding reserved seats. He also became known for his 27 dispersed pages written regarding changes in NAB laws. His time has also been marked by his attempts to help construct arbitration forums and help foster judicial change in Pakistan.
Justice Yahya Afridi
Justice Yahya Afridi was born in Dera Ghazi Khan on January 23, 1965. Most of his early education was obtained at Aitchison College, Lahore. After that, he graduated from Government College, Lahore. Legal studies were continued with an LLM from Jesus College, Cambridge University. Legal practice commenced in 1990, and entry into the Supreme Court bar was achieved in 2004.
He has been involved in larger benches deciding significant issues, including the case of reserved seats and the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto presidential reference. He has also contributed dissenting notes in various significant judgments.
Read also: Here’s how Justice Mansoor Ali Shah reacted to Yahya Afridi’s appointment as CJP
Justice Munib Akhtar
Justice Munib Akhtar was born on 14 December 1963. He received most of his early education at Govt College in Lahore. He then relocated to the United States and continued his studies at Princeton University. Justice Munib Akhtar entered the judiciary when he was appointed as an additional judge of the Sindh High Court in 2009. In 2011, he also got the substantive post.
Further, in 2018, he was promoted to Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The judge’s other critical duties included authoring articles that detailed Article 63-A of the Constitution of Pakistan.