Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar and Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, took oath as acting chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Friday.

He will serve as acting CJP during the absence of Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, who, along with Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, has gone to Sri Lanka to participate in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Law Conference. The oath was administered by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed. The oath taking ceremony held at the Supreme Court was attended by the apex court judges, senior lawyers, law officers and members of the judicial staff. Supreme Court Registrar Arbab Muhammad Arif conducted proceedings of oath taking ceremony. In a brief chat with media after taking oath, the acting CJP said that today’s independent judiciary was the result of lawyers’ struggle for rule of law and independence of judiciary. He said lawyers play an important role in the dispensation of justice, just like judges. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan was a member of the Supreme Court’s five-member bench, which delivered its July 28, 2017 verdict in the Panama Papers case, disqualifying Nawaz Sharif as prime minister.

Published in Daily Times, October 28^th 2017.