ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Tuesday said that the newly appointed Special Parliamentary Committee (SPC) has nominated Justice Yahya Afridi as the next chief justice of Pakistan.
The Parliamentary Committee was formed to nominate the next chief justice from among the three most senior Supreme Court judges. The other judges in contention were Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the media after the committee’s meeting that Justice Yahya Afridi was nominated with a two-third majority. “With a two-third majority, Justice Yahya Afridi’s nomination has been sent to the prime minister,” the Law Minister said.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told a private TV channel that two-third of the nine committee members present had decided in favour of Justice Yahya Afridi.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa is set to retire as the top judge on October 25.
The Special Parliamentary Committee is comprised of PML-N’s Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaista Pervaiz Malik and Azam Nazeer Tarar; PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf, Naveed Qamar and Senator Farooq H. Naek; SIC’s Hamid Raza; PTI-affiliated MNA Gohar Khan and Senator Ali Zafar; Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan MNA Rana Ansar; and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s Senator Kamran Murtaza.
