PESHAWAR: Justice Mohammad Younis Taheem, a judge of Peshawar High Court, retires after serving on the bench for over three years.

His fellow judges and legal fraternity hailed his stint as a judge during a full court reference here on Monday.

Born in Dera Ismail Khan on March 21, 1956, Justice Younis Taheem was elevated to the bench as an additional judge on November 10, 2014. A year later he was confirmed as a judge of the high court.

The full court reference was attended by judges of the high court including PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, judicial officers, law officers of the attorney general and advocate general offices, office-bearers and members of PHC Bar Association and others.

Three confirmed judges also take oath

PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi hailed services of Justice Younis Taheem for the court and said that not only he was a good judge but also a fine human being.

He said that Justice Taheem was taking interest in poetry apart from economics as his favourites subject.

The PHC chief justice said whenever any task was assigned to Justice Taheem, he accomplished it with much dedication and sincerity.

He said that Justice Taheem played an active role during the lawyers’ movement and also participated in protests against the martial law of Gen Ziaul Haq.

Justice Yahya Afridi said that Justice Taheem had delivered several important judgments, which would be remembered for long time.

Justice Younis Taheem thanked his fellow judges and legal fraternity, saying that the time he had spent in the high court was golden period of his life.

He pointed out that during his tenure he observed that several problems originated in Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) because of the non-settlements of land there.

He suggested that the provincial government should carry out land settlement in Pata to overcome those problems.

The additional attorney general, Manzoor Khalil, the additional advocate general, Waqar Ahmad Khan, and PHCBA president Arbab Mohammad Usman also addressed the full court reference and highlighted different aspects of the life of Justice Taheem.

Earlier, oath taking ceremony was held for three recently confirmed judges of the high court.

PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi administered oath to the three judges -- Justice Abdul Shakoor, Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah.

They were appointed as additional judges last year and now on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission the President of Pakistan appointed them as confirmed judges.

All these three judges are from the bar and enjoy good reputation.

Justice Syed Attique Shah belongs to a prominent family of Charsadda. His father Syed Mohammad Shah Badshah was also a senior lawyer.

He was born in 1968 and was enrolled as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2008. Before his elevation to the bench last year, Justice Attique Shah was serving as additional attorney general for Pakistan.

He was thrice elected as president of PHCBA and also served as its secretary general. He is well versed in civil law and constitutional matters and during his career he had appeared in several important cases.

Justice Ijaz Anwar was born in Peshawar in 1968. He had done his LLB from University of Peshawar in 1991. He was enrolled as an advocate in 1993. Subsequently, he was enrolled as an advocate of the high court in 1997 and that of the Supreme Court in 2008.

Justice Ijaz is known for his expertise in labour and services matters.

Justice Abdul Shakoor, belonging to Abbottabad, was born in 1962. He was enrolled as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2004. He is considered an expert in corporate and civil law.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2018