ISLAMABAD: The Mini­stry of Law and Justice on Wednesday notified Justice Gulzar Ahmed as Chief Justice of Pakistan as the incumbent CJP Asif Saeed Khosa is reaching the age of superannuation on Dec 21.

Justice Ahmed will be the 27th CJP and serve till Feb 21, 2022.

The notification issued by the law and justice secretary states: “In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (3) of Article 175 A, read with Article 177 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is pleased to appoint Mr Justice Gulzar Ahmed, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court, as Chief Justice of Pakistan with effect from December 21, 2019.”

Justice Ahmed, who was part of the five-judge bench that disqualified former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case, is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council and Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

His strict action during suo motu proceedings regarding Karachi led to a massive anti-encroachment and cleanliness drive by the metropolitan authorities, though it also created some consternation among the people.

He was made judge of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Aug 27, 2002.

Justice Ahmed was born on Feb 2, 1957, in Karachi in the family of distinguished lawyer Noor Mohammad and did his early education from Gulistan School, Karachi. He obtained BA degree from Government National College and LLB from S.M. Law College, Karachi.

He was enrolled as an advocate on Jan 18, 1986 and as an advocate of the high court on April 4, 1988.

He became an advocate of the Supreme Court on Sept 15, 2001.

Moreover, the Parlia­mentary Committee on Appointment of Judges on Wednesday approved the nomination of three lawyers for vacant posts of judges in the Islamabad High Court.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan, headed by CJP Asif Khosa, had on Nov 21 approved the names of three lawyers, including female advocate Lubna Saleem Pervez, as IHC judges.

Besides Ms Pervez, who was working as deputy attorney general at the SHC, the other two lawyers are Fiaz Anjum Jandran and Ghulam Azam Qambrani.

Mr Jandran is an Islamabad-based lawyer and a member of the Islamabad Bar Council. Mr Qambrani is an eminent lawyer of Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2019