Islamabad: Six newly appointed permanent judges and one acting judge took the oath of office in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, administered the oath.
This is the first time the oath-taking ceremony was held on the Supreme Court’s lawn. The newly sworn-in permanent judges include Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad, Justice Shafi Siddiqui, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, and Justice Hashim Kakar.
Additionally, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb was sworn in as an acting judge of the Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Yahya Afridi administering the oath.
The ceremony was attended by Supreme Court and High Court judges, the Attorney General, families of the judges, officials from the Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association, and a large number of lawyers.
Meanwhile, Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar took the oath as acting Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court at a ceremony held at the Governor House in Karachi. Governor Sindh, Kamran Tessori, administered the oath.
Similarly, Justice Syed Muhammad Atiq Shah was sworn in as acting Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court at the Governor House in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath, and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was also present.
Later today, Justice Muhammad Ejaz Swati is also expected to take the oath as the acting Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court at a ceremony in the Governor House, Balochistan. The Governor of Balochistan will administer the oath.
After the ceremony, Supreme Court’s senior judge, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, spoke informally to journalists. When asked about rumors of a reference being filed against him, he responded:
"Why should I be afraid if I have done nothing wrong? Let the reference come; we will deal with it. Only God is in control."
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah dismissed claims that Supreme Court judges were not working efficiently, stating:
"Look at the case disposal rate and how many of our judgments are published in law books. Everything is on the Supreme Court’s website."
When asked if there were any conflicts among judges, he said, “There is no personal animosity with anyone. We all meet and have tea together.”
Earlier this weak, two senior supreme court judges including justice Mansoor Ali Shah along with PTI representatives boycotted the judicial commission meeting on the dispute of judges promotions which led to speculations that the government may file a reference against the boycotting supreme court judges.
