A claim regarding Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s reaction to Justice Yahya Afridi’s appointment as the next chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), has taken the internet by storm.
Justice Shah, who was next in line to be the CJP on the basis of seniority, was on Tuesday sidelined for the appointment of Justice Yahya Afridi, as a Special Parliamentary Committee, formed under the 26th Amendment, nominated the latter instead.
The committee, with a two-thirds majority, referred Justice Afridi’s name to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who later forwarded it to President Asif Ali Zardari for a final nod.
With the Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar announcing the decision of the parliamentary committee last night, senior journalist Meher Bokhari shared on X (formerly Twitter) a claim regarding Justice Shah’s reaction to the news.
“Just spoke to a close family member of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. He said, ‘I am fine and going off to sleep and need to go early to SC [sic],” she claimed
It wasn’t later when social media was flooded with commentary on Justice Shah’s reaction.
One user trolled Meher Bokhari and said, “It was quite a revelation indeed. I also talked to a family member of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and he said, ‘I’ll wake up and brush my teeth.”
“Sanu ki paway lambi taan kay sawy ya choti,” another user posted.
Optimistically, one X user wrote, “Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s commitment to his duty speaks volumes. Let’s hope his integrity remains intact amidst all the political pressure.”
Justice Yahya Afridi’s Early Life
Justice Yahya Afridi was born in Dera Ismail Khan on Jan 23, 1965. Justice Afridi belongs to the Adam Khel clan of the Afridi tribe and is a resident of Kohat’s Babari Banda village. He comes from a family steeped in the tradition of public service, as per Dawn News.
Justice Afridi attended Aitchison College and Government College, Lahore, for his schooling and undergraduate degree. He later secured an MA degree in Economics from Punjab University.
After being awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship, Justice Afridi completed his LLM from Jesus College at the University of Cambridge. He was subsequently selected for a scholarship programme for Young Commonwealth Lawyers at the Institute of Legal Studies in London.
He was enrolled as a high court advocate in 1990 and a Supreme Court lawyer in 2004. He served as an assistant advocate general for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and as federal counsel for the federal government while in practice.
Justice Afridi was elevated to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) as an additional judge in 2010, and confirmed as a PHC judge on March 15th, 2012.
He was elevated to the Supreme Court on June 29, 2018.
Justice Yahya Afridi will take oath as CJP on October 26.
