Justice Afridi likely next CJP if constitutional package is approved

ISLAMABAD: Justice Yahya Afridi will likely be appointed the next chief justice of Pakistan if the constitutional package, approved unanimously by the parliamentary committee on Friday, is passed by parliament.

Sources in the treasury benches confided to The News that the government and its allies would go for the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi in case the constitutional amendment package is passed.

After the retirement of incumbent Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the three senior-most judges to be considered for the slot of CJP will be Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi. It is noteworthy that in recent times, when the apex court judges have been badly divided, Justice Afridi has remained non-controversial and neutral.

The proposed changes in the constitution -- in the form of the constitutional package -- suggest that: “The Chief Justice of Pakistan shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Special Parliamentary Committee from amongst three most senior Judges of the Supreme Court. The Committee, constituted for the aforesaid purpose, shall send the name of the nominee to the Prime Minister who shall forward the same to the President for appointment. Provided that where the nominee under this clause declines, the next most senior judge shall be considered by the Committee and so on till the appointment of the chief justice of Pakistan.”

The proposed package also envisages how the committee to recommend the name of the new chief justice will be constituted. The committee’s formation, as proposed in the constitutional package, will give a majority to the treasury benches.

According to the proposed package, “The Special Parliamentary Committee, in this article referred to as the Committee, shall consist of the following twelve members, namely:- (i) eight members from the National Assembly; and (ii) four members from the Senate. Provided that when the National Assembly stands dissolved the total membership of the Committee shall consist of the members from the Senate only…”

Regarding the representation of political parties in this all-important committee, the package says, “Each Parliamentary Party shall have proportional representation on the Committee, based on their strength in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) to be nominated by their respective Parliamentary Leaders. The Chairman and the Speaker of the National Assembly, as the case may be, shall notify members of the Committee.”

The package adds that the committee, by the majority of its total membership shall, within fourteen days before the retirement of the chief justice of Pakistan, send the nomination to the prime minister. However, the first nomination after the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment shall be sent within three days prior to the retirement of the chief justice of Pakistan.

The package also states, “No action or decision taken by the Commission or the Committee shall be invalid or called in question only on the ground of existence of a vacancy therein or of the absence of any member from any meeting thereof.”