ISLAMABAD: Justice Yahya Afridi, who is currently the fourth most senior judge in the Supreme Court (counting CJP Qazi Faez Isa as the first), has been named the 30th CJP on the recommendation of a special parliamentary panel.

If he accepts the position, Justice Afridi will be sworn in by President Asif Ali Zardari on Oct 26. He will remain chief justice for the next three years.

A former chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Afridi is also respected among the legal fraternity as a professional, straight forward and fair-minded judge who never indulges in arguments with lawyers.

This aspect was also evident during the hearing of the reserved seats case by the full court bench, when Justice Afridi always bucked up lawyers to present their case in whatever manner they would like, even while other members of the bench were posing a volley of questions and virtually debating with the counsel standing at the rostrum.

In April 2024, Justice Afridi had recused himself from a case pertaining to alleged meddling by the country’s intelligence apparatus into judicial affairs, arguing that inaction on the part of the chief justice or judges of the Islamabad High Court should not lead the Supreme Court to impose the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 184(3).

He had observed at the time that this may affect the working of the chief justice and judges in their discharge of judicial functions, and would amount to interference in the independence of high courts.

Early life

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.

Justice Afridi attended Aitchison College and Government College, Lahore for his schooling and undergraduate degree. He later obtained an MA 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 interned at Fox & Gibbons, Solicitors, in London, before returning to Pakistan, where he joined Orr, Dignam & Co. in Karachi as an associate. He started his private practice in Peshawar and also lectured at the Khyber Law College, where he taught international law, labour law and administrative law.

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 became the first judge from erstwhile Fata to assume the office of the PHC chief justice, when he took oath on Dec 30, 2016. He served in that office until his elevation to the Supreme Court on June 28, 2018.

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2024