Who is Yahya Afridi, the new Chief Justice?

ISLAMABAD: The new Chief Justice, Yahya Afridi, was announced on Tuesday, just days after the controversial judicial reforms were passed in the Parliament and inked into law.

Who is Yahya Afridi, the new Chief Justice?

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Justice Yahyha Afridi was nominated by a parliamentary committee on October 22. He is set to take oath of office on October 26.

Afridi was born on January 23, 1965 in Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He belongs to the famed Afridi tribe from the Kohat region.

The future Chief Justice attended the prestigious Aitchison College and alter earned his bachelor of arts (BA) in political science and economics from Government College University in 1985.

The 59 year-old would go on to obtain his bachelor of law (LLB) and a masters of arts (MA) in economics from University of Punjab from 1988-89.

The young man then went on to Cambridge University, where in 1990, he obtained the prestigious master of laws (LLM) at the Jesus College on a commonwealth scholarship.

Yahya Afridi then began his legal career in 1990, when he interred at the Fox and Gibbons firm in London before returning to Pakistan.

The future Chief Justice first worked as an associate at Orr, Dignam and Co in Karachi, and then became an Advocate of the High Court High in 1991.

Afridi would then later serve as Assistant Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and as Federal Counsel for the government.

He would then go on to become an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 2004.

Afridi’s juridical career started when he was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Peshawar High Court in 2010. He became a permanent judge in 2012 and was appointed Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court in December 2016.

Yahya Afridi later joined the Supreme Court on June 28, 2018.

Durng his time in the Supreme court, Afridi has been involved in significant cases. He participated in cases regarding reserved seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council and the presidential reference about the hanging of the former prime minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

In 2024, Yahya Afridi declined to join a committee receiving the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Ordinance. He has been a strong advocate for judicial independence, which will be an interesting dynamic given the recent 26th amendment that many have accused of compromising the judiciary.

He was also a petitioner against the emergency declared by General (redt) Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

As the new Chief Justice, Yahya Afridi carries a lot on his shoulders as the 59 year-old enters the post at uncertain times.

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With the passing of controversial 26^th amendment many from within the law fraternity have declared as undermining the country’s judicial system and its subsequent challenge in the Supreme Court days later, the new CJ has to navigate murky waters while maintaining high expectations.