ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: Justice Muhammad Bashir Jehangiri was sworn in here on Monday as the 16th Chief Justice of Pakistan for a short tenure which ends on January 31.

The oath of the highest judicial office was administered to Justice Jehangiri by President General Pervez Musharraf at a ceremony held in Aiwan-i-Sadar.

Justice Irshad Hasan Khan, who became the chief justice of Pakistan on Feb 26,2000 when six of his colleagues refused to take fresh oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), retired on Jan 6, 2002.

No traditional full-court reference was held at the retirement of Justice Irshad Hasan Khan. He, however, retired as Acting President of Pakistan.

Justice Mohammad Bashir Jehangiri started his judicial career in 1966 as civil judge, Peshawar. He also served as judicial commissioner, Northern Areas, Gilgit, 1979-82. He also worked as joint secretary in the Federal Law and Justice Division for four years before being elevated as judge of the Peshawar High Court. He became judge of the supreme court in 1996.