ISLAMABAD: Chief Jus­­tice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi will head a delegation to the 20th Con­­ference of Chief Jus­ti­ces of the Supreme Courts of SCO member states in Hangzhou, China, scheduled to be held from April 22 to 26.

CJP Afridi will be acco­mpanied by Justices Amin­uddin Khan and Sha­hid Waheed and two district judges from the re­­mote areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — Zafar Jan, district and sessions judge, Gwadar, and Nadia Gul Wazir, senior civil judge of Lakki Marwat district.

During their visit, an MoU is expected to be signed between the apex courts of Pakistan and China to enhance bilateral judicial cooperation by establishing institutional linkages, facilitating capacity-building initiatives and promoting knowledge exchange in international commercial law, arbitration, cybercrime, financial crime, climate change litigation, and judicial technology integration.

SCBA resolution

Meanwhile, the 27th executive committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in a meeting held in Lahore adopted a resolution, disapproving the six canals being drawn from the River Indus.

The resolution noted that such extraction would only increase differences between Punjab and Sindh on water issue and exacerbate the scarcity of water resources in various regions of the country, particularly in Sindh, which is already facing severe water shortages.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2025