ISLAMABAD – Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan took the oath as a Supreme Court judge in a ceremony held at the apex court in Islamabad. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to him.
This appointment follows the approval by former president Arif Alvi last week, appointing Justice Afghan, who previously served as the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court, to the highest court of the country under Article 175(A) of the Constitution.
Simultaneously, Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar is expected to assume the role of acting Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) under Article 196 of the Constitution following Alvi’s approval, as reported by The News last week.
Additionally, Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday, also following the former president’s approval.
With Justice Afghan’s appointment, the number of judges in the apex court now stands at 14, with three more vacant positions.
Justice Afghan joins a distinguished bench consisting of CJP Isa, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Mussarat Hilali, and Justice Irfan Khan.
Justice Afghan, born in 1963, hails from a family with a government service background. He holds degrees in Economics and Statistics from Degree College Quetta and an LLB from University Law College Quetta. He was enrolled as an advocate of the Balochistan High Court in 1989 and an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2001.
According to his profile on the Supreme Court website, Justice Afghan has practiced law for 21 years across various courts, handling numerous criminal, civil, and constitutional cases, many of which are documented in law journals. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the BHC in 2011, elevated as a judge in 2012, and eventually became the Chief Justice of the province’s High Court in 2021.