The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formally rejected Justice Yahya Afridi’s nomination for the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) role, announcing plans to initiate a protest movement.
PTI leader Hamid Khan expressed this stance on Geo News’s local news channel after the party boycotted the parliamentary panel’s meeting.
Khan also expressed his hope that Justice Afridi would decline the nomination. Meanwhile, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal countered the opposition’s claim of a “constitutional crisis” due to the nomination process’s overlooking of the seniority principle. Iqbal defended the Special Parliamentary Committee’s choice of Justice Afridi, asserting that the decision was merit-based.
He argued that bypassing the seniority principle is not unprecedented, citing similar instances in the appointments of high court chief justices. Iqbal emphasized the need for statesmanship and robust leadership to diminish judiciary polarisation and enhance the institution’s strength and cohesion.
The nomination emerged from two closed-door sessions of the parliamentary panel, which the PTI-supported Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) boycotted, adhering to a prior decision by the party’s political committee.
The committee includes members from various political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). The National Assembly Secretariat revealed that the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) had decided not to attend the meeting, a decision that a subcommittee failed to overturn.
With the retirement of the current Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, approaching on October 25, the government is under pressure to appoint his successor quickly. The 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill has altered the appointment process, now requiring the Special Parliamentary Committee to secure a two-thirds majority to endorse one of the three most senior Supreme Court judges for the chief justice role. Should the primary nominee decline, the committee will evaluate the other two senior judges for the position.
