• Justice Afridi to retain designation during his term in office
• After his retirement, title will pass to senior among chief justices of FCC, SC
THE last-minute change in the 27th Amendment, passed by the National Assembly on Wednesday and then transmitted back to the Senate for re-legislation, has cleared the raging question: will the coveted title of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) feather the cap of the chief justice of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) or that of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP)?
Ever since the constitutional amendment was tabled before the Senate for final approval, questions have been raised as to who will retain the title of CJP — the chief justice of the FCC or that of SCP.
But substitution in Clause 23 of Article 176 cleared the puzzle, explaining that the incumbent Supreme Court chief justice, who happens to be Justice Yahya Afridi, will continue to hold the title of CJP during his term in office. CJP Afridi was sworn in as the 30th CJP in October 2024, a term which will end after three years.
Likewise, another definition added to the amendment explains that the CJP means the senior of the two chief justices.
This provision will come into play after the incumbent CJP retires from his office.
The confusion was further explained when Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar rubbished the debate raging since morning that, through the historic 27th Amendment, the ruling elite has abolished the office of CJP.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the law minister dispelled the impression that the coveted office was removed and said CJP Afridi will continue to head significant judicial bodies like the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as well as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. However, after this retirement, the position of CJP will go to whosoever is senior among the chief justices of the FCC and the Supreme Court.
Earlier, it was generally believed that after the creation of the FCC, the new court would be considered a top court in the judicial hierarchy since its chief justice was mentioned at a higher plane than the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Senior Advocate Hafiz Ehsaan Ahmad Khokhar told Dawn that the clarification by the National Assembly in the amendment regarding the tenure and retention of the designation of incumbent Supreme Court chief justice rightly and legally addresses a previously overlooked constitutional anomaly during its passage in the Senate.
This clarified framework continues to protect his position until it is expressly reviewed or altered through the proper constitutional process, which had not previously occurred, he said, adding that the latest clarification, confirming the retention of his designation as CJP until he retires, does not create any new right or privilege but merely affirms the continuity already embedded in law and practice.
The counsel said this correction should be viewed solely as a reaffirmation of constitutional consistency since the designation remains intact so long as the foundational conditions of his appointment remain unmodified.
By issuing this clarification through the amendment, the lower house has ensured that the interpretation of tenure aligns with constitutional principles, thereby safeguarding judicial continuity of the office of the chief justice, he said.
However, the clarification also raised eyebrows when former additional attorney general Tariq Mehmood Khokhar described substitution as person-specific legislation, discriminatory and of contested constitutionality.
“The SCP is now a shadow of its former self; the office of CJP has been reduced to a hollow title,” he regretted, adding that in the face of it all, the CJP’s penchant for “grandiloquent titles was all the more baffling”.
“State of denial, narcissistic, delusional or worse?” he lamented.
Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2025
