The Supreme Court of Pakistan has updated its seniority list following the oath-taking of seven newly elevated judges.
The names and profiles of these judges have been published on the official Supreme Court website,. According to the updated seniority list, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi is followed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
Justice Muneeb Akhtar is placed second in line followed by Justice Ameenuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Mandokhel respectively.
The list goes on to name Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Musarat Hilali.
Other notable entries include Justice Irfan Saadat, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shehzad Malik, Justice Aqeel Abbasi, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Hashim Kakar, and Justice Shafi Siddiqui.
The updated list reflects the recent changes in the composition of Pakistan’s top judiciary body, with many new appointments taking effect.
Earlier in the day, Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi administered the oath of office to six newly appointed judges of the Supreme Court.
The new judges include Hashim Khan Kakar, ex-chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC); Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, former chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC); Ishtiaq Ibrahim, former chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and Aamer Farooq, ex- chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
SHC Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and PHC Justice Shakeel Ahmed also took the oath as judges of the Supreme Court.
In addition, CJP Yahya Afridi administered the oath to Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb as an acting judge of the apex court.
The ceremony was attended by Supreme Court judges, the Attorney General, senior lawyers, journalists, judicial staff, as well as office-bearers of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Pakistan Bar Council.
These judges were nominated on Monday in a Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting which was boycotted by two senior SC judges as well as two members from the opposition party.
The 13-member JCP, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, convened to consider the nominations for Supreme Court appointments. According to a statement on the Supreme Court’s website, the nominations were approved by a majority vote.