Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday administered the oath of office as new Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to Justice Jawwad S Khawaja.

The ceremony was held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr and attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Federal Ministers Ishaq Dar and Pervaiz Rashid.

The ceremony was also attended by judges, Senate Chairman, Governors of Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan Chief Minister, Azad Jammu and Kashmir President, parliamentarians, services chiefs and senior officials. For the first time the oath was administered in Urdu.

The president and the prime minister felicitated the new chief justice on assuming the office. He succeeds Justice Nasirul Mulk, who retired on August 16.

According to a press release from the President House, Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja later called on President Mamnoon. The president congratulated him on his appointment as Chief Justice of Pakistan and wished him well in discharge of his new responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Jawwad S Khwaja in a break from protocol has refused the VIP squad reserved for the chief justice of the apex court, a facility enjoyed by all previous chief justices.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja was sworn in as the 23rd Chief Justice of Pakistan on Monday to serve in the exalted position for just 23 days until his retirement on September 10.

The previous chief justices in their tenures were provided special VIP protocol as well as a bulletproof luxury vehicle. The new chief justice has also refused to take delivery of the bulletproof Mercedes Benz allocated for his use and has returned the same.